Never Forget
by Lady Nephenee Ranulf
Summary: Don't forget. Never forget. And Lloyd Aurion hasn't, but when you're 17 and stuck on a floating comet, what else can you do? Time spins, plans are set, but things have a way of not going to script. Obviously Cruxis!Lloyd.
1. Got a Job For You

I thought I might as well try my hand at a Cruxis!Lloyd fic...with a few twists, of course. Hopefully this will be a little different from what people are used to seeing-- if that's a good thing.

Pairings will be announced as I think of them; hold your horses, everyone.

Standard disclaimers apply.

* * *

**Never Forget**

"Do not forget, Lloyd."

"Do not forget who you were and who you are now."

"Do not forget what brought you here."

"Never forget."

There had been more words included in his father's terse lecture, but those phrases in particular had stuck themselves in Lloyd Aurion's head. He had been only three, standing in the hallway of someplace strange and dark before a tall and imposing door. His father had his hand on the knob of that door, but suddenly stooped down to look his son in the eyes, clasp a gloved hand to his shoulder, and then charge him with a mission:

_Never forget._

Lloyd was very young, yes, but he could feel the weight in every word: his father often looked somber and stern, but never so much as in that moment. Even after he had uttered a solemn "Yes, Daddy", Lloyd could still feel the grip of his father's hand on his shoulder even after the taller man removed it and straightened up.

"Don't get into any trouble, now. I will be back soon."

"I won't. Promise!" Lloyd grinned.

His father smiled back and ruffled his hair briefly before turning the knob and walking into the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

Lloyd had been left to stand in the hallway, standing straight as a rod beside the door, watching as tall and lifeless beings swept by him. They did not stop to give him any notice, and he instead had fallen to a combination of boredom and childish curiosity: inching nearer to the door, he pressed his ear to the crack and strained for any snippet of conversation he might hear.

"…you run, you hide, and then you have the nerve to stand here and ask me to let a _human_ stay here?" The first voice sounded nothing like his father's imposing tone. It was young, and at the moment, angry.

"Mithos, you don't understand. I have an _obligation_." His father's voice was nearly pleading.

"No, _you_ don't understand. If it weren't for our past relationship and the fact that you are Origin's seal, I would have had you and your brat erased in a heartbeat- _personally_."

"Then you might as well get on with it; I'm sure it wouldn't be hard at all to find a suitable replacement for me."

The younger voice broke out into uncontrollable laughter. "Forgive me, Kratos, but you must understand: you are the only person suitable for the seal. No one else has quite the capacity for loyalty as you do, as I'm sure your late wife understands—ah, ah, ah, no need to start so. I've already heard the whole story thanks to a report from Cardinal Kvar. Quite surprising that he even survived, given what you did to him. Ah, I suppose a decade or so and he'll be right as rain."

"You…" Lloyd shuddered; he knew that tone. It meant that his father was reaching the edge of his patience.

"You've only yourself to blame; you know that. I've told you time and time before: there is nothing left for us in those despicable worlds."

"Mithos…"

The younger voice continued on, as if it hadn't bothered to listen to his father at all. "Ah, and of course I can't use Yuan. I may not think very highly of you right now, but I trust Yuan even less. He's always absent on these 'business trips'."

"Mithos, _the issue at hand, please_."

"Hm? Oh yes…your son." There was an unhealthy pause. "I suppose a master must throw his dog a bone once in a while. Do what you will with the boy, but keep him out of my sight. Understand?"

"Very well." His father's voice suddenly sounded tired.

"That's more like it. You're dismissed." There was a hesitant step. "Don't stand there, fool. I've nothing more to say. Get out of my sight."

"As you wish." Lloyd gasped and swiftly moved away from the door as the knob turned. He couldn't be caught eavesdropping!

"A moment, Kratos," the younger voice said.

"Sir?"

"The Angelus Project- I would very much like it back now that you have properly gallivanted around with it. The girl might have been of little consequence, but I do want that Cruxis Crystal."

"I hear and obey." Lloyd stiffened into his original position by the side of the door as his father stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. The older man stood there for a long time, but finally he turned to his son with a long, drawn-out sigh.

"I'm glad to see you haven't gotten into any mischief." He cracked a smile, although it did not completely reach his eyes. In all honesty, it was more for Lloyd's sake.

"See? I was a good boy!" Lloyd stretched out his arms and on cue his father swept him up, seating the boy on his shoulders.

"I'm proud of you, Lloyd." His father set off down the hall, the winged beings gliding through as well only pausing for a second to wonder what was clinging to Lord Aurion.

Lloyd kept quiet as they moved through the dark halls until they arrived at another door. His father slowly set him down and fumbled with the keypad. The boy looked around. Used to the vibrant colors of the outside world, he couldn't understand why they weren't going back, now that Daddy had finished his important meeting. "Why aren't we going home?"

His father stopped dead. "Lloyd," he began slowly, "we're going to be here for a while."

"Why?"

Kratos Aurion could not bear to look into his son's inquisitive eyes. "…You'll understand when you're older."

* * *

The flow of time never ceases, but if Lloyd knew rightly, it would only stop on Derris-Kharlan. Never did things seem so dreary and stuck in the mud as on that stupid floating ice ball he called home. It had been fun and games when he was younger, hiding in all the nooks and crannies of the vast palace-like structure and exploring the countless rooms, but now he knew them all like the back of his hand, and there was only so much a conversation-starved, gregarious seventeen-year-old could do with a crowd of lifeless angels.

And his dad, but he didn't really count, especially when said father tended to act just like the angels around him. Well, he technically was one, but at least Kratos knew how to actually _smile_. Not that there were a lot of times that he did so, but sometimes he managed to surprise his son. Recently, though, the two had been growing a little distant. Lloyd was tired of life on Derris-Kharlan- for good reason too, in his opinion. His father, patient and subservient as always, had essentially told him (in a cultured way, minded) to suck it up and that one had to play with the hand Fate had dealt them.

Fate- a useless ideal he hated within his very core. Lloyd did not want to accept that his destiny had already been marked out for him, especially since that seemed to mean "with luck Yggdrasill will put you out of your misery in only a couple of years or so." The angel had it out for him; this he knew very well. Whenever their paths crossed (which Lloyd took care to make as infrequent as possible), the blond man would send him a look which clearly said only one thing:

_You're an eyesore, and if it weren't for your father you'd be dead by now._

And Lloyd, as far as he could tell, had done nothing whatsoever to merit that kind of hatred. Unfortunately it was there, and he had to deal with it, just like he had to deal with boring, bland food; dull books; and a complete lack of interior decorating sense. At least he didn't have to deal with skin-tight uniforms; his father had had the decency to get clothes in a style that Lloyd preferred: stuff that wasn't too baggy but still gave him room to breathe—all in nice, bold colors, like _red_. Yes, red was so much better, so much more manly. It ended up, however, being just one of a myriad of things that marked him, plain as day, as an outsider. He was that kid, that weird kid who actually had feelings. (And what, for that matter, were those?)

Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered maintaining his personality. It seemed so easy to just drift along with the rest of boring old Derris-Kharlan. Then again, it _was_ kind of pointless to try: when he was younger, he had tried to emulate the behavior of his father, all stern and cold. It hadn't worked. Lloyd had a penchant for friendliness, something that Kratos completely lacked. He also found that he _liked_ talking, to the alarm of many an angel, all of whom had been unused to sudden barrages of words.

In the end, though, it was true that he'd been forced to become more reserved than the scamp of yore: chattiness died quickly in Derris-Kharlan, replaced by a reluctant bookishness. His father probably liked it more that way, come to think of it. Kratos always acted so stiff whenever his son tried to engage him in small talk- really made things difficult. What the guy needed was a—

"Lloyd."

His father's sharp voice shocked Lloyd out of his thoughts.

"Huh…whazzat?"

"You've been stirring your breakfast for about five minutes now—with the same vacant expression, may I add?" Kratos said caustically.

Oh for the love of…it was way too early in the day to get a lecture. "Well, I was just about to get to eating," Lloyd replied, eyes daring Kratos to bear into him. "Besides, a guy's allowed to think deeply, right?"

Sometimes Kratos wondered why he tried with this child, who was so willful, who refused to be squashed. It didn't help that Lloyd was a teenager now, and in the most headache-inducing phase of life ever. "I wasn't aware you regularly engaged in such an activity," he shot back.

"Well I do. Besides, I'm not that hungry," Lloyd said, although right then his stomach chose to say otherwise. "Er…"

"What were you thinking about?" Kratos asked, and now his voice was a lot softer; he'd discarded the authoritative edge.

"Stuff. Stuff that doesn't concern you." Unconsciously Lloyd gulped down a spoonful of the glop populating his bowl.

"I'm sure it does." There was very little that Lloyd thought about that didn't concern Kratos.

"This time it doesn't."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, huh?"

And that ended that. Kratos sat in silence across from his son, arms crossed. Lloyd continued to slurp down his breakfast, glancing up every now and then to shoot a glare at his father.

This carried on for about five more minutes, until finally Kratos shifted uncomfortably and said softly, "Well if you're not going to break the silence, I will." He paused. "Yggdrasill's sending me out on a mission."

"How long?" Lloyd seemed unfazed, and Kratos suddenly longed for the days when the boy had actually taken an active interest in his father's looming absence. Or at least had acted like he did.

"I'm not sure. A few months, give or take."

"That's not a very good deadline."

"I'm supposed to be acting as a guardian for the Chosen of Sylvarant; you know what that means."

"Definitely a few months, then." A few months, and what was he supposed to do with himself in the meantime? Lloyd would never actually say it, but he really did miss his father when the older man was sent out. There were precious few who would actually take the time to talk with him- no, there were no others who would. He would have to spend some unknown length of time once again holed up with…something.

"I suppose."

"So why's Yggdrasil making you play babysitter anyway?" Lloyd stood up to dump his bowl and utensils in the sink. "Why does he need to keep track of the Chosen? Aren't there supposed to be priests or something going along on the journey of world regenerationn?"

"I don't know the exact reason, but I believe I can hazard a guess," Kratos replied, looking down.

Lloyd knew the answer before his father even said it: "It's about Mom, isn't it? And me too, I guess. He's trying to test you, isn't he? To see if you'll try to run off again."

The man sighed and shook his head. "Who knows, Lloyd. There's a chance that I might come back with a sibling for you. History does have a tendency to repeat itself."

"Dad!" Lloyd sounded shocked.

"I was joking," Kratos said irritably.

"Well, I can tell _that_," Lloyd replied. "It's just that…you know, you actually made a joke."

"How kind of you to notice."

Lloyd didn't respond. "Hm, let's see, well, whoever they'd be, they'd be my half-brother—or my half-sister. I think I'd like a half-brother better…"

"Lloyd…"

The boy laughed. "C'mon, learn to take a joke, Dad!"

"An eye for an eye, I see," Kratos observed, but Lloyd could tell that he was smiling- just very minutely.

"You know, I wouldn't mind a souvenir, though."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, like another adventure novel. You won't believe what kind of stuffy material they've got hanging around here; I can't spend all my time reading that!"

Kratos laughed softly. "I'll see what I can find that's _age appropriate_."

"I'm not asking for porn, Dad," Lloyd said flatly.

"Did I say you were?"

Lloyd smacked a hand to his forehead. "Oh please…"

Kratos stood up now as well and walked over to his son. He ruffled the boy's hair fondly. "You know I only mean to jest."

"Well it's kind of hard to tell when you're joking and when you're actually being serious, if you haven't noticed." Lloyd scowled (he wasn't a little kid anymore!) but didn't try to jerk away.

Kratos backed off. "I'm sorry it was on such short notice."

Lloyd blinked. "Why? When are you leaving?"

"Soon. They're arranging the portal as we speak."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?!"

Kratos looked apologetic. "It slipped my mind; forgive me."

Lloyd was about to yelp out more of his indignation when suddenly there was a sharp rap at their door.

"Lord Aurion!"

"And there's my escort," Kratos said quietly. He picked up the Flamberge from its place by the door and turned back to his son. "I'll try to get the Chosen to break the seals as fast as possible- just for you."

"Get _serious_! And…and don't get yourself killed!" It was kind of any empty charge, considering his father's skill. Still, Lloyd had always suspected that some of Kratos's moodiness sprang from certain…tendencies. The swordsman never hinted at inner turmoil, but his son knew very well that he was constantly battling his demons.

"I hear and obey," Kratos said with a wry smile and a mock salute before he swept out of the room.

"Hey, wait—oh, damn." Too late. Lloyd had started to move toward Kratos, had wanted to maybe give him a quick goodbye hug (nothing like shocking his father's escort with a good dose of family love, after all), but…he'd missed his chance. And now Kratos was gone, unable to be spoken to for who knew how long.

Lloyd stood blankly for a couple moments, staring at the door through which his father had just disappeared. Soon, however, he shook himself out of his funk. "Get real, Aurion," he muttered. "It'll only be a few months. Yeah, just a few months. And weren't you just thinking a few minutes ago how hard it's been getting to deal with him? Yeah, you're just getting ahead of yourself…"

Still muttering, he retreated to his room. Maybe a little training would take his mind off things.

* * *

Yes? No? Should I even bother? I know it's moving kind of fast right now; I'm kind of pulling things out of thin air.

And if you're bummed out that Lloyd isn't tagging along with Kratos, just know that there'll be plenty of intrigue going on on Derris-Kharlan. The kid's got a brain.

Upcoming: Lloyd takes his frustrations out on a dummy, Yuan tries to set things in motion, and Kratos deals with more (groan, wheeze, gnash teeth) _teenagers_. (GOSH DARN THEM KIDS.)


	2. And So Things Begin

Lloyd stared down the practice dummy, giving it the most ferocious glare he could muster.

_You think you're so great; wait until you get a load of what I can do._

The dummy, resembling a semi-humanoid fluff pillow, obviously gave him no equal evil eye. It had no face, leaving Lloyd to label it whoever he considered his mortal enemy at the time. Sometimes it was Yggdrasil. Other times he wasn't so sure. Either way, he liked pretending he was intimidating.

_Focus, focus, focus…_

He leveled the practice sword and cleared his mind.

_Only a few months…I can take it._

* * *

Little did Lloyd know, but a possible kindred soul was currently prowling through Derris Kharlan: Yuan.

Yuan disliked Derris Kharlan—loathed it, even. It was, to him, a lingering reminder that he was not happily retired as he should have been following the war. He was meant to be a war hero, celebrated throughout the land (and with plenty of epic ballads about his stirring romance with Martel), not stuck in anonymity posing as a goddamn angel while his brother-in-law plotted to practically destroy the world. Divine being indeed…

He had just left a meeting with Yggdrasil, a quick follow-up to his return from Tethe'alla. They had discussed the usual affairs: the Church has received such and such from offerings, an increase from last year; no trouble whatsoever; no need to worry, Yggdrasil, everything is under control. Oh, Renegades? He was still maintaining the search for their leader. (Never mind that he _was_ their leader. And that he'd bought the opposition.)

Yes, mundane things were all they talked about, but these days Yuan always left any sort of encounter with Yggdrasil with a horrible, tight feeling in his chest. 'Hatred' was too strong a word, but the seven other dialects he knew gave him no better alternative. So he hated Yggdrasil, hated him for what he'd forced his old friends into, hated him for twisting Martel so, hated him for falling into madness.

Forcing himself into an ever fouler mood, Yuan stalked down the hallways, completely unaware of anything until he happened to pass one of the few training rooms. Usually it would be Kratos inside, moving just so as he battled an invisible enemy, flowing through forms which stayed the same even as millennia passed: Kratos was a traditionalist.

Today, however, inside was the other face he accustomed to that room- the son. He knew it was Kratos's son, because the voice was higher and the breathing louder. Kratos never pushed himself to his absolute limits; his son had a tendency to overdo things.

The son was a distraction from the figurative rain cloud hovering over his head, though, and so Yuan pushed open the door to the training room and stepped quietly inside. As he had guessed, Lloyd was already whaling away at the target.

He took the time to observe the young man's form. There were obvious signs of Kratos's influence: straight, no-nonsense slices and tight footwork, for one thing. (Kratos liked to keep things simple, too. None of this showboating business with fancy twirls, although he knew the man wasn't above a few acrobatics if the situation called for it) Still, Lloyd had youth, and youth meant that he swung with less control and a bit more abandon.

Yuan smiled somewhat as his hand reached for one of the practice swords sitting on a rack nearby.

* * *

Lloyd was about to deliver a nice hit to the dummy's throat when he found his sword edge blocked.

"Hey, Dad, what's with the—huh?"

Wait, but Kratos was out. That meant...

"So I'm your father now?" Yuan laughed behind their locked blades. "Should I feel complimented?"

"Yuan, what the hell are you doing?" Lloyd wasn't in the mood for the man's banter.

"You left yourself wide open a few times," Yuan said before suddenly shoving Lloyd back. The boy stumbled, but managed to bring up his sword in time to block the incoming strike. "I just thought I'd let you know."

"There's nothing wrong with my form!" This was not turning out well at all: the last thing he wanted at the moment was a duel, even if it was a teaching duel. His father was patient if a bit patronizing when instructing; Yuan was just _annoying_.

"Show me," Yuan dared, and was happily rewarded as a light came on in Lloyd's eyes, and the young man bullied forward.

They traded blows for a few seconds before separating. Lloyd was breathing hard, but still kept his stance steady. He trained his eyes on Yuan as the half-elf walked forward casually.

"What are you—ow!" Lloyd jumped as Yuan suddenly prodded his knee. (The man was _fast_.)

"You want your stance to be a little wider."

Lloyd adjusted his leg. "So did you just come down here to give me a lecture?"

"I just happened to be passing by. Where's your father?" Casually asked, but this was very important information: Yuan had _plans_.

"He's out. Yggdrasil asked him to guard the Chosen of Sylvarant," Lloyd said shortly, relaxing now that they were talking over fighting.

Yuan nodded knowingly. "Ah, so you're home alone." Without warning he rapped Lloyd's wrist with the blunt side of the practice sword. The young man yelped and dropped his blade. "Don't let your guard down."

Lloyd told him a few choice things in Angelic, prompting another smack.

"Does your father know you can say that?" Alright, so maybe he was having too much fun.

"He taught me," Lloyd muttered as he rubbed his wrist.

"Should have known," Yuan said, shaking his head. "He was always fond of telling me to fuck off and mind my own business. You sound just like him."

"…huh?" The young man's eyes went wide.

"Didn't think Kratos was capable of being that coarse, hm? If you must know, it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for; you never know what they're thinking.

"Although, if it makes you feel any better, your father only swears in Angelic. Sounds more elegant that way, I suppose. He can be rather strange, can't he?" Yuan added as an afterthought.

"Er…yeah." Lloyd didn't get Yuan at all. He respected the half-elf, alright, but it was always unnerving to watch the man switch from irritating to amusing in a flash. "Why'd you want to know where my dad was, anyway?"

Sword practice seemed to be forgotten, but Yuan had other issues to attend to, several of which could be addressed right now. "I wanted to talk to him about something."

"About me?" And the boy was as single-minded as always.

"Among other things, perhaps."

"And what exactly about me?" Lloyd eyed him suspiciously. Parents liked to talk about their children, true, but Kratos wasn't much of a braggart and Yuan much of a person to listen to bragging. (Their roles had to be reversed for it to be the way of things.)

"I don't know…your health?" Yuan arched an eyebrow and also took the opportunity to pick up Lloyd's sword, lest the boy try to pull the same trick on him. "In the end, does it really matter? I do deserve to know how my best friend's son is doing, don't I?"

Lloyd nodded, not even bothering to protest Yuan's move. "I guess…"

Yuan crossed his arms. "So, how are you, Lloyd?"

The young man blinked. "What?"

"Well, I was going to ask Kratos about you, but considering that he isn't here and that you are, I might as well ask you, right?" Yuan nodded sagely. "And also note that direct sources are the only sources you should ever trust."

"What? Well…I'm fine, I guess. Dad's gone now, but he's been out before, so I think I'll be alright."

The half-elf frowned. "You're not very good at hiding how you're feeling."

Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"Anytime anyone says that they're 'fine', Lloyd, know that they're probably _lying_."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lloyd said. (Yuan was sure into giving advice today…)

"Good. Now tell me what's going on."

"I don't know. It's just…there's not much to do here. It's kind of boring, you know?"

"You're a young man with a lot of energy to spare; I understand where you're coming from." And of course Kratos wouldn't. Yuan doubted that the swordsman had even had a proper childhood, to have developed that kind of stuffiness.

"Yeah, I kind of wish I could get out sometimes…"

"…and of course you wouldn't cause any trouble…"

"…because I know the rules…"

"…and would be back at a reasonable hour…"

"…before bedtime…"

They both laughed at that one.

"You just want to see the world, like any kid your age," Yuan said.

"Yeah, just like a normal kid…"

"…except that Yggdrasil would probably rather eat his Cruxis Crystal before letting you out of his sight."

And those were the facts.

Lloyd ran a hand through his hair. "It's a load of crap, I know. I just don't want to be stuck here my whole life. I mean, look at this!" He stuck the front of his hand nearly in Yuan's face. "I don't even have an Exsphere or a Cruxis Crystal or anything! I bet I'm the only thing in this whole place that won't live past…I don't know. Seventy!" He broke off with a bitter laugh.

"It'll be the first funeral this rock's ever seen…Lloyd Aurion, age seventy, looking older than even his own damn dad. _Rest in peace_."

Yuan was betting his swallow blade right now that this was something that Lloyd usually kept to himself—which was a good thing. It meant Lloyd trusted him, and he needed Lloyd's trust, even if he meant to betray it all later.

"All I want is just one day," Lloyd said. "But even that's too much to ask, isn't it?"

"Well…"

And here was Opportunity, that beautiful girl, dancing tantalizingly in front of him. All Yuan had to do was seize her properly.

"…I don't know…" the half-elf finished slowly, taking care to deliberately leave his words hanging.

Step one: flirt.

"What? You mean there's a chance?"

She was being coy. He could play that way too, if she wanted.

"Well, you know, I do have a lot of influence with Yggdrasil. If I pull the right strings, I might be able to, ahem…"

A little more charm—

"Yuan, have I told you how amazing you are lately?" Lloyd was bouncing on the balls of his feet, radiating excitable teenager.

—and the wonderful girl was his, figuratively.

"Hold on there, Lloyd," Yuan said irritably, holding his hands up to try to calm the boy down. "I said I _might_. Doesn't guarantee success, hear?" He was also going to have to do a lot of favors and prostrating and yes-man acts for Yggdrasil if this was going to have any chance. Damn it.

"But still, you're going to try, right?"

"Yes…"

"Oh man! Yes!" Lloyd did a fist pump (and where had the boy learned _that_?). "Best day _ever_! Thanks Yuan, I owe you one!" He dashed out of the room. "Going to clean up now, catch you later!"

"Oh dear, he's still a hyperactive goof at heart," Yuan said, shaking his head. He waited for Lloyd's footsteps to fade before putting both of the practice swords away.

_And I have inched one step closer._

There were only two known ways into Kratos's heart. One was already dead. The other just needed to be in enough danger for the knight to come rushing to the rescue. And then Origin would be within grasp.

True, he had a fond spot for the boy; he almost considered him a nephew of sorts. Still, there was the greater good to be considered; Lloyd was only a pawn when one looked at the grand scheme of things.

And Yuan was willing to sacrifice his attachment for the right side.

* * *

Kratos's fingers danced impatiently on the hilt of the Flamberge as he waited for Phaidra to make her decision. He had already presented his case: the priests were dead, the Chosen defenseless. He had a good reputation (fabricated by Cruxis), and his loyalty would be second to none given the right offer. In addition, he had already saved them all from certain death just seconds ago; hadn't he proved himself?

"You are quite willing to take on this burden," Phaidra said solemnly. "I am surprised. Few would."

_That's because I _have _to_. "It is to all of our merit if I assist the Chosen."

Phaidra gave in. "Very well, then. We will discuss your payment after the oracle has been received."

Kratos nodded his assent. "Thank you."

The old woman looked at her granddaughter. "I leave her in your hands, Sir Aurion." She turned and began to stump down the temple stairs.

After the woman's departure, Kratos became aware of two pairs of eyes fixed solely on him. He turned wearily. "Is something the matter?"

"You're going to be coming with me?" The Chosen of Sylvarant chose to speak first. She looked remarkably innocent, and Kratos suspected that she was one of those people who wore their hearts on their sleeves.

"So it seems." He nodded curtly. "Shall we proceed inside, Chosen? The oracle is waiting."

"Sure!" She beamed. "And just call me 'Colette'. It's a lot easier."

He knew how she felt: he disliked titles as well. "As you wish." Kratos turned his eyes to her companion, clearly a half-elf. _Either this village is more tolerant than I thought or someone is very good at deception._ "And you…"

"I'm coming too!" The half-elf blurted.

Kratos frowned. "It is too dangerous."

"But—!"

"There are monsters." No point in mincing the facts.

"Mr. Aurion, I'd kind of like it if Genis came along," Colette cut in.

Kratos blinked. The girl was giving him a look that he was used to: it was the one that Lloyd used when he wanted something. _Oh for the love of_... "Are you sure?"

"Well if it's dangerous for me, isn't it dangerous for Colette?" 'Genis' demanded. "And you're letting her go!"

"That is an entirely different matter," Kratos snapped. "Colette is the Chosen; the oracle is her responsibility."

He'd almost intimidated the boy into leaving; he could see it in the half-elf's eyes. Still, by some remarkable force of will, Genis stayed, glaring ferociously.

"Genis is my best friend, though," Colette said. "Please, Mr. Aurion? I'd feel much more comfortable."

"Yeah, especially with strange men like you around…" Genis muttered under his breath as he tried to inch away from the corpse of the man beside him.

The 'mercenary' rubbed the bridge of his nose and cursed acute senses of hearing: he did _not_ want to listen to a snip of a boy question his honor. "If you insist. We have little time to waste." He began walking into the temple. "Stay close, you two."

"Yay! Hear that, Colette?"

"Thank you, Mr. Aurion!"

"There is no need to thank me." Theoretically, Kratos reasoned, if he could handle both Lloyd and Mithos, he could just about handle any person under twenty. It was going to be alright.

He just had to keep telling himself that.

* * *

Poor Lloyd. He's going to be fail in fights sans Exsphere. "Don't worry, Dad! I'll get us out of this--oh shit." (And no, this is not foreshadowing.)

And there were actually more scenes written, but for the sake of length and flow I cut it out for next chapter, which will have much more Kratos, I swear!

Also! Thank you for all reviews.


	3. Another Day in the Business

Yuan collapsed into his office chair upon returning to his quarters. A beep notified him of a call. Flicking the communicator button, he barked, "Report, Botta."

The image of the bearded half-elf flickered to life. "Bad news, Yuan: Vidarr failed."

Yuan tilted his head back and groaned. "Why am I not surprised?" Assassinating the Chosen before she even got to the oracle sounded remarkably easy on paper; executing it was another thing.

Botta continued. "Kratos was largely responsible."

"Kratos? Ah, that's right: Yggdrasil has sent him to be the Chosen's guardian angel."

"Is that so, sir?"

"His son told me about ten minutes ago."

"And what does this mean for our plans, sir?"

Yuan played idly with one strand of blue hair. "We'll have to wait and see. Kratos makes too much of an impact for us to proceed as planned. We'll need to eliminate his influence somehow."

Botta looked concerned. "Are you really going to kill him?"

Yuan snapped up from his lounging. "Don't ever suggest that to my face, Botta," he snapped. "Kratos is Origin's seal; he's meant to die, but not right now." He leaned back again. "There must be some way to get him out of the picture, though…"

"Can we use the boy, perhaps?"

"I was considering that, but relying too much upon one person makes for an unsteady foundation."

"Oh yes, that's right. We'd already planned to involve him with gaining Origin."

"Exactly." Yuan sighed. "In any case, Botta, someone is already using Lloyd for the very purpose you suggested."

"He is a hostage?"

"To Yggdrasil he is—for obvious reasons."

"And you don't want to stoop to his level, is that it?"

Yuan scowled. "I already have, but yes, _of course_ I'm trying to delude myself."

His second laughed, but wisely chose to move on in the conversation. "Speaking of Yggdrasil, how was your meeting, sir?"

"Splendid as usual."

"I'm sure he asked about the Renegades."

"Only the usual questions. I evaded them as always."

"As always indeed." Botta chuckled. "Well, in any case, I'm glad your eyebrows are intact this time around. Good to hear you didn't come to blows again."

"You sound very pleased."

"Your diplomacy skills have always been a little unpolished, if you don't mind me saying. I believe now, though, you are making progress."

"Botta…"

"Yes, sir?"

"You are not acting like a proper subordinate. Again."

Another chuckle. "I'm sorry, sir."

"You better be. Now go back to paperwork or whatever it is you were doing before. Yggdrasil wants me around for another two days and then I'll be back."

"Flanoir or Triet, sir?"

"Triet. Make sure my room is properly cleaned beforehand."

"I'll make sure to do a white glove test before you arrive."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"And I'll have mints on the pillows."

"Damn you."

"Love you too." One last laugh and Botta had cut the communication.

Yuan exhaled slowly before pushing his chair back and standing up. He needed to speak with Yggdrasil.

* * *

"Mr. Aurion, where did you get your sword? It's really pretty and shiny."

"I found it." A lie: it had been forged especially for him during the war.

"Where?"

"In an underground cavern." It sounded believable enough.

"So easily?"

"No, there were many obstacles. Treasure is not gained so easily." He didn't know why he was indulging the Chosen in such inane discussion. Maybe it was because he missed Lloyd, Lloyd and his idle chatter.

"I guess, huh, Genis?"

"What? Sorry, Colette, I wasn't really paying attention."

"Treasure is hard to get, right?"

The half-elf did not take long at all to consider his friend's words. "I guess. It wouldn't really be treasure if you didn't put some effort into finding it."

"Well said," Kratos remarked.

They had by now gained the Sorcerer's Ring, and were standing in front of the sealed main doors.

"Wow, I can't wait to see what's on the other side!" Genis exclaimed. He suddenly withdrew and looked about hurriedly.

"Is something the matter?" The boy was behaving suspiciously.

"My sister's around here somewhere," Genis confessed. "She's a little…wacko. I just don't want her to, you know, hear me and find us."

Kratos looked at him while Colette fumbled with the ring: the ability to aim properly seemed to be one that eluded her. "So you are not here for her sake."

"What, my sister's? No, not at all. Actually…" The half-elf glanced at Colette. "…Colette kind of dragged me along."

"Is that so?" The Chosen did seem persuasive enough, in a cute fashion.

"Yeah, I didn't want to come, especially after one of the priests pretty much died at her feet. I'm not much of the strong type, I guess." The boy looked downcast.

Kratos did not consider himself good at raising others' self-esteem, but he supposed he might as well give it a shot once in a good while. "I am sure Colette would not have asked you to come without good reason."

"Well, you heard her," Genis said, scuffing a foot on the tile. "I'm her best friend."

"Still, you did wish to come along," Kratos pointed out. "I warned you of the risks, but you still wanted to."

Right then, they both ducked as Colette stumbled and sent an energy blast directly at them.

"Sorry about that!" Colette smiled sheepishly.

Kratos had had enough of standing around. "Let me see the ring," he ordered, holding his hand out for her to drop the artifact into. She obliged him.

"It's really difficult," the Chosen warned him.

"I'll be careful." He aimed and fired. The Sorcerer's Ring emitted a blast and hit the seal square on, dissolving it.

"Amazing!" Colette exclaimed.

"Well, considering that the target was a good foot and a half wide, and Kratos can aim…" Genis muttered.

"Maybe you can teach me!" Colette said brightly.

The next few months were going to be tiring; he could tell. "Later. We have more important things to consider." Kratos motioned to the warp. "After you."

* * *

Yuan did often call on Yggdrasil of his own accord: like Lloyd, he too tried to avoid confrontation as much as possible, even if it meant the constant cloud of suspicion. But there was no turning back; speaking to the leader of Cruxis was necessary.

He knocked three times upon the ornate door to Yggdrasil's office. "It's Yuan."

"What do you want?" Yggdrasil's voice was muffled by the door, but he still sounded irate.

"I wish to speak with you."

"I didn't call for you."

"So now we have to be in sync for things to get done?" Yuan's small amount of patience was wearing thin.

The door was yanked open, and the half-elf found himself face to face with his superior.

"You're infuriating, did you know that?" Yggdrasil hissed before grabbing Yuan by the collar and practically throwing him inside.

The Renegade leader nearly lost his balance, but was able to recover in a semi-dignified way. He dusted himself off imperiously. "And you put up with me."

Yggdrasil glared and slumped back into his office chair. "So I do." He motioned toward Yuan. "Now talk."

"I have recently received reports suggesting Renegade activity near the Chosen."

Yggdrasil scoffed. "That's no surprise."

"They tried to kill her."

"And this is why I sent Kratos. I'm sure your sources reported accordingly…or did they?" The blond half-elf's eyes narrowed. "He _did_ take care of them, right?"

Yuan unconsciously took a step backward. "Naturally."

Yggdrasil laughed. "Of course he did." He shook his head in amusement. "Why should I have even doubted Kratos?"

Yuan 'went along with the joke'. "After all, you hold his son, right?"

"Well, that's only one of many things, Yuan," the leader of Cruxis said, continuing to laugh. "But the son is a factor," he conceded.

"I can only guess what words passed between you two."

"And you should continue to do so, Yuan. What we said is none of your business." Yggdrasil tilted his head slightly. "Now get on to what you are really here for, Yuan. This small talk of the Chosen of Sylvarant I know you know is unnecessary."

"You see clearly through me, as always," Yuan demurred.

Yggdrasil slammed a fist onto the arm of his chair. "Stop wasting my time."

Yuan jumped. Time to cut to the chase. "I have a request, if I may be so bold."

His superior yawned. "And whatever would you need?"

"Well, it's concerning Lloyd- the son, if you will." He knew that Yggdrasil disliked referring to Lloyd by name. It was some sort of childish impulse: the leader of Cruxis preferred to believe that Lloyd did not exist, or else did not have anything that might make him important, like a proper name.

"I don't see why you would need to ask me about anything concerning him," Yggdrasil said. "Surely you can contact Kratos. After all, his son should be his responsibility."

"Well, considering that it might interfere with whatever existing…agreement you have with Kratos, I presumed it prudent to ask you first before proceeding." Yuan was pulling out the language of negotiation, high-brow talk that would soften the impact of his words, perhaps even partially disguise their true intent.

"Tell me," Yggdrasil ordered.

"As you know, L—the son remains here. I have talked to him recently, and he expressed a desire to see the world- or worlds, I suppose."

Yggdrasil read his words immediately. "You wish to let him loose? Hm, you made a wise decision in running this by me first, Yuan."

Yuan frowned: 'let him loose' made Lloyd sound like some sort of wild animal. "He would be supervised, of course."

"But Kratos is away."

"I meant by me."

There was silence for several seconds before Yggdrasil burst out laughing. "Him? With _you_? Surely you jest, Yuan! Do you honestly think I would let anyone potentially dangerous out of my sight with _you_?"

_Damn_. Yuan feigned surprise. "You lack trust in my abilities?"

Yggdrasil dabbed his eyes. "Not in your abilities, oh no; what I lack trust in is your _loyalty_."

Yuan hid a grimace. "I don't believe I've done anything to merit this kind of distrust."

The blond half-elf leaned forward in his chair. "Four thousand years, and you are still easier to read than a picture book. You should be ashamed, Yuan."

Yuan was normally a confidant man, but at that moment Yggdrasil shook him to his core. If he was so easily read, had Yggdrasil been toying with him all that time? Did the man already know of his Renegade activities? He could not, _would not_ allow that. "You have me mislabeled, Mithos."

"Hah! And you would appeal to that side of me, hm?" Yggdrasil's eyes shone with malicious triumph. "Tell me, if I were to honestly consider your ridiculous request, what have you done to _merit_ that kind of trust? What have you accomplished that I could see as proof that you would not use this boy to your own ends?"

"I have stayed around for this long; I have not abandoned you." Yuan stepped forward. "Let me remind you that it was not I who left seventeen years ago."

"So now you would direct my suspicions on Kratos. Someone is not a good friend at all, is he?"

He hated this. He hated being backed into a corner by Yggdrasil. He did not deserve to be put on the defensive like this. "I am only illustrating a point. You have your proof."

"But is it valid? I will think on this." Yggdrasil swiveled his chair so that the back was facing toward the older half-elf. "You are dismissed."

"Mithos, what are you—"

"I said, _you are dismissed_. Do not make me repeat myself again, or else I will give up on this scheme of yours entirely."

Yuan lingered defiantly for a few seconds before finally making a short bow and walking out.

The leader of Cruxis stared at the wall in front of him for several minutes before finally speaking. "What do you think, sister? He is plotting something, your gallant fiancé. He is always plotting something. The question is, but _what_?" His fingers tapped on the chair arm.

"The son wants to leave. That is intuitively obvious. Yuan asks on his behalf. That is not so obvious. I wonder…does that strike you as odd, sister? Does Yuan even have the ability to care for a person in that way?

"Oh yes, of course you have your biases, but I mean in a frank matter."

It would strike most as odd that Yggdrasil would choose to speak to someone who was not there. It would strike most as a sign of insanity. Yet, Yggdrasil was not insane. He talked to his sister because he had no one else to turn to. He spoke to his sister only because he did not want to be alone. To be alone meant to feel the weight of his deeds fully upon him. They were all for necessary and worthy purposes, but still, Yggdrasil did not lack a conscience. It was just that he preferred to ignore it the majority of the time.

"If you think he is as he presents himself, sister, of course I will trust you. You are the only one I can trust."

* * *

They were standing before the seal now, and Kratos watched wordlessly from the sidelines as an angel slowly descended from the heavens.

_Always with the theatrics…_True, everything was necessary for preserving the outward appearance of Cruxis, but to a man raised to appreciate the bare minimum, all the acts were merely time-consuming activities.

"We of Cruxis accept you as the Chosen of Regeneration," the angel intoned. Remiel- of course it had to be Remiel. He was one of the earlier angels created, and still had some semblance of a personality, which was necessary for discerning when was the appropriate time to not act like a mindless drone. All the same, Kratos disliked him intensely. In his opinion, Remiel was getting too arrogant; he needed to be disposed of. However, since when had his opinion actually mattered?

The seraph spaced out as Remiel went through the formalities. Everything was moving without a hitch; the technicians had not fumbled the appearance of the Tower of Salvation; Remiel was about to leave—

"Are…are you my father?"

Kratos froze. Colette had not just…no, she _had_. He was aware of the rumors of the Chosen's angelic descent, but never thought that someone would take it upon themselves to actually _ask_.

One look at Remiel's face and he knew exactly what the angel meant to do. He shot the angel a stern glare: _Deny this, or I will personally incinerate you later_. Mana lineage or not, no representative of Cruxis had any business pretending to be someone's parent, especially if they did so in front of the one representative of Cruxis who actually was a parent.

In his eyes, it would be heresy, pure and simple.

Remiel deflected his look with ease. "We will meet again, Colette…my daughter." And before Kratos could so much as squeak the angel had vanished far quicker than he had appeared.

This would not do. They could not actually believe that fool. Kratos turned to Genis for some actual logic and found none: the half-elf was gaping at the seal.

"Wow…" Genis could only stare at the space where Remiel had been but a few seconds ago.

"My father…" Colette said.

"You believe him," Kratos said, trying to go about this as cautiously as he could.

The Chosen fingered the brilliant red jewel now gleaming at her throat. "Does that make me half an angel?"

Genis's head whipped in her direction. "Whoa! Maybe!"

Kratos suddenly could not find it in his heart to correct them. Perhaps somewhere along the road he would mention it to Colette, but at that moment they were both so overawed that he knew it would be disheartening to have their illusion shattered. To do so would also cast suspicion: the Chosen was a nearly divine being; to question her parentage would be seen as stepping over his boundaries, for what did a mere mortal mercenary know about anything angelic?

He let them stare for a minute or so longer before butting in. "…we should be leaving."

Genis and Colette tore their eyes away from the seal.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Oh, that's right! I bet my family wants to know about the oracle…"

Kratos did not bother to respond.

* * *

They were almost out of the temple when Genis's "wacko" sister caught up with them.

"Martel, this architecture is _marvelous_! I should have gotten permission to study this before—Genis?" She caught sight of her brother. "_Genis_! What are you doing here? Didn't I give specific instructions to—" She caught sight of Kratos. "…hello."

"The Chosen asked him to come along," Kratos said evenly, crossing his arms.

"That's right; I did! I'm sorry, Professor Sage, but I didn't want to come here all alone…" The Chosen was putting on a remarkable act, unless she was actually as sorry as she looked.

"And you are?" 'Professor Sage' regarded Kratos curiously, obviously more interested in him than her brother or Colette's excuses at the moment.

"Kratos Aurion," he provided. "I was hired to protect the Chosen, in lieu of the priests."

"Interesting." She eyed him a bit more, although he could tell it was not out of attraction: her eyes were lingering on the Flamberge and his Cruxis Crystal; he was already showing up on the "suspicious persons" radar. "Where are you from?"

"Nowhere of importance," Kratos said brusquely. "And we have things to attend to." He turned to Colette. "We should return to your house; it is my understanding that your grandmother wished to speak to me. It would be best if we did so there." He wanted to leave, and quickly. Questions about his origins would not do.

"Of course, Mr. Aurion! Follow me; I'll show you the way. Come on, Genis!" And innocent, blessed Colette (at that moment) thankfully did not read into his intentions.

"No, no, Genis and I have some things to talk about," Genis's sister said before her brother could open his mouth. "We will stop by your house later, though." She smiled winningly.

"Oh! Okay, then. I'll see you later, Genis!" The Chosen began down the steps leading back to Iselia.

Taking this also as his curtain call, Kratos followed her down, wincing as his hearing picked up the sounds of a spanking.

Sister? More like the boy's _mother_.

* * *

As Yuan so aptly said, it is the quiet ones you must watch out for; never know what they're thinking. Oh Kratos…

Also, I apologize for the lack of Lloyd and unequal dialogue-to-action ratio.


	4. Talk, Talk, Talk

Normally, in order to act the part correctly, he would need to put up some sort of bargaining battle. However, Kratos wouldn't have minded doing the job for free if he had to; after all, it wasn't as if he was going to come around to collect his payment anyway.

Phaidra made her offer of fifty-thousand gald for the round trip; Kratos didn't even bother to consider it.

"It's a deal then," he said blandly.

"Ah, and it wouldn't be too much if our school professor joins you, would it, Sir Aurion?" Phaidra motioned to Genis's sister, who had joined them earlier in the afternoon.

Kratos frowned. "Is that wise?" The journey was dangerous, and he knew Phaidra was aware of that. He couldn't afford to have too many liabilities.

"I can handle myself," the sister said. "Besides, it would be best to have at least one other person in the party…"

She did not voice her concerns, but as always, Kratos knew what she meant to imply. Simply put, neither she nor Phaidra trusted him enough alone with Colette.

"So it would." Best to agree with them. "I apologize; I did not catch your name the first time we met. You are…?" Everyone in the village seemed to address her as 'Professor'; he was not willing to do that.

"Raine Sage. As Phaidra mentioned, I'm the teacher at the school here."

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "And are you sure that your students will not suffer in your absence, Miss Sage?"

Clearly Raine was prepared for this question, because she hardly looked worried at all. "Others are prepared to pick up the slack. My brother, despite his age, is actually quite capable of teaching."

"Really." The boy did seem to have a decent head on his shoulders, but he couldn't envision him leading a class in anything.

"Yes, he's far above his peers." And there was that mother complex showing through again.

"I will take your word for it." Kratos stood up and pushed his chair in. "We will leave tomorrow morning, if that is acceptable."

"That's fine." Raine nodded. "And you are going where?"

He had to find a way to dispose of this aura of 'unsavory figure' as fast as possible. It was getting annoying. Granted, there hadn't been much way to prevent it: he'd shown up out of the blue, was probably far more refined than most mercenaries. No doubt they were cooking up more ideas of his true character with every passing second.

"I have some preparations to make," Kratos told her. He left before anyone could squeeze in another question.

Outside the air was crisp as the sun drew closer to the west. Kratos paused on the steps down from the Chosen's house and sighed deeply.

"What's to look relieved about?"

The seraph turned sharply to the side, hand already grasping at the hilt of his sword. He stopped before he could complete the motion and draw. "Genis!"

The young half-elf regarded him from his perch on the Brunels' fence. "Well?"

Kratos relaxed. "Negotiations can be tiring."

"At least you get to go," Genis pointed out.

This was interesting. "You wish to accompany Colette? I'm surprised. I thought you didn't consider yourself a 'strong person'."

Genis scowled. "Well, it's better than just staying here alone. My sister's going too, now."

"From the sounds of things, your sister plans on you being her substitute." Staying alone: those words rang eerily familiar.

"That's what she _likes_ to think," Genis said. "But I don't really fit in well with the other kids here. They're all kind of scared of me, I think, being a…an elf and all. None of them can cast magic or do advanced mathematics."

It was a little disheartening to see how similar Genis's and Lloyd's situations were. "People have a hard time accepting what is different. Those who are willing to press on in spite of that fact are worthy of respect, I think."

"You're just saying that to cheer me up…" Genis waved a hand dismissively.

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "I dislike empty words."

The boy hopped off of the fence and walked past Kratos. "Well then, I guess, huh?" He waved briefly. "I'll see you later."

Kratos watched him leave, noticing that the boy's gait was a little twitchy. Genis was an easy person to read; it was clear that he was going somewhere that he was not meant to be. Still, what business an adolescent half-elf engaged in was surely nothing to fret about. He had other things to worry about: there was somewhere he meant to go, and he wanted to be left _alone_.

* * *

The forest near Iselia was dimly lit from the dense foliage surrounding it. The wind blew gently through the trees, rustling the leaves as it passed. Barely anything else moved: the forest was not known for its dangers, but rather for its serenity.

_Not so fourteen years ago_… Kratos stepped into the clearing, his eyes fixed firmly on the hard, compacted ground in front of him. There was no sign of what had transpired in this very place long ago, but he hadn't expected there to be. The forest took care of itself, purging anything that distracted from its peace. Blood was surely included in that.

"Anna…" he whispered, and her name floated on the wind through the trees.

He waited a few more moments before suddenly pacing the length of the clearing, up and down. Each time he reached the end he would turn sharply on his heel, with military precision, and resume his walk.

"Lloyd has grown. He is a young man now; you would be proud of him, I think. He has your spirit; that much is evident. Not even Derris Kharlan can squash that out of him. Still, sometimes I wonder if that sense of life impedes him. He is growing anxious, Anna. I'm not sure how much more of Derris Kharlan he can take…"

Kratos's eyes were still looking down at the ground in front of him.

"Of course I want him to leave. I may never lead any semblance of a normal life, but I want my son- _our_ son- to live the way he wants to. He is not fit for Derris Kharlan; it is surely killing him with every year that passes. Yggdrasil will never allow him to leave, though. Lloyd to him is only a link in a chain, a chain that binds me to Cruxis. He thinks that if Lloyd leaves, I will soon follow him."

The seraph stopped dead in the center of the clearing. "I don't know what to do, Anna. I am caught in a vise once again. There is no way out of this. I must bend to someone's wishes eventually, either my son's or my lord's, and betray the other." He frowned. "That is what I am destined to be, Anna, always a shadow, a dog who follows those who are greater, waiting for the scraps. And if not Lloyd's or Yggdrasil's, then Origin's…"

The wind picked up as it swirled through the trees, pulling at his hair and sweeping it into his eyes.

Kratos wiped the strands out of his eyes and laughed. "Alright, alright, I get the point. I'll do my best."

* * *

Genis sprinted down the hill from the ranch, tears in his eyes. How could he have been so stupid, to put Marble in that kind of danger? Now she was going to be killed…or worse! And all he could do was run away as she had told him, leaving his friend like a pathetic coward.

No, it was because he _was_ a pathetic coward.

He ran with his head down, not even bothering to look where he was going until he ran into a very solid object. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" The half-elf stumbled back, rubbing his eyes ferociously.

"I should be telling you that."

Genis froze and blinked. The figure standing before him swam into focus. Red hair, purple armor…oh crap!

"Ack! Kratos! Uh…" Genis scrambled further backwards. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the scenery," the mercenary said lightly. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"W-well, I just didn't expect to see you here…"

"And I wasn't expecting you."

"Er…"

"Are you enjoying the scenery as well? From the looks of things, it seems to have brought you to tears." Kratos was staring at him intently.

"I can't really tell you," Genis confessed. "It's…well, it's…"

"You were at the ranch, then."

Genis jumped. "Please don't tell Raine," he begged. "She'll go nuts!"

"Well, you shouldn't have been there in the first place," Kratos said sternly. "To my understanding, Iselia has a non-aggression pact with the Desians in the area, is that correct?" When the boy nodded numbly he continued. "You would not want to risk violating that, would you?"

"N-no…"

"Did they see you?"

"No!"

Kratos nodded. "Then you and Iselia are safe for the moment, I think." Never mind cameras. He didn't want to send the boy into a panic.

"For the moment?" Genis peered up curiously.

The mercenary turned and began walking up the hill toward the ranch. "All good things come to an end, even if they are just illusions."

"Well, yeah, but—hey, wait, what are you doing?" Genis scrambled up the hill and blocked Kratos's path with his arms spread wide. "You can't go up there! They'll kill you!"

The mercenary again fixed him with that same uncanny stare. "I mind my own business, boy. I'm not about to go poking around a ranch."

Genis dropped his arms. "Then…then where are you going?"

"That doesn't concern you. Now get out of here."

Genis shook from the harshness of the man's voice. "I-if you insist…"

"Now."

The half-elf turned tail and ran back to Iselia.

Kratos waited until he was completely sure that Genis was out of the forest (good hearing did have its uses) before continuing up the hill…and turning left to the ranch.

"Desian Cardinal Forcystus…" he muttered under his breath. It had been a while since he and the Cardinal had crossed paths; he might as well 'stop in' just to see how things were going- and to confirm that nothing ill would come out of Genis's visit.

* * *

A shower later, Lloyd was idling down the halls of Derris Kharlan. Angels floated by him, not paying him any notice as usual: he was the blind spot in their field of vision. It used to bother him that no one ever acknowledged his presence, but now of course he was used to it, welcomed it, even.

In any case, he had somewhere to be. In his dreary mood, he had forgotten about someone else who he might be able to distract himself with. Granted, it was a some_thing_ else, but Noishe was practically a person in his own right: the protozoan could read his master's son's moods easily.

Noishe was kept in a separate pen, which Kratos had constructed years ago, far before Lloyd had been born. In recent years, though, it had been Lloyd mostly who had come down to visit the green-and-white animal: Kratos was usually away, or had other things to attend to.

Lloyd slid the bolt over and opened the gate to Noishe's 'house'. "Hey, Noishe, it's me."

The protozoan leaped up from where he lay and bounded over, whining. Lloyd obligingly scratched behind his ears. "Long time no see, huh? I'm sorry I haven't been coming to visit as often as I could. Things have been kind of weird lately, you know?"

Noishe licked Lloyd's face, smothering the boy with slobber. "Oh, that's disgusting, Noishe! Blegh!" Lloyd wiped his face off on his sleeve with a grimace. "But seriously, buddy, I've missed you."

Boy and protozoan collapsed onto the hay on the floor in a heap. "Yeah, I figured I'd come to see you, though, seeing as Dad's out again."

Noishe gave him a questioning look.

"You heard me. He's out again. He won't be back for a couple of months. It's just you and me again, Noishe." Lloyd absentmindedly continued to scratch behind Noishe's large ears. "And you know how lonely I get."

The protozoan barked its assent.

"Well, that makes two of us."

They sat there for a while, a boy and his dog, just enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Noishe," Lloyd said suddenly.

The protozoan perked his ears up.

"If we ever leave this dump, what do you think? Do you want to come with me?"

Noishe whined.

"Well, I mean, I haven't planned anything, but Yuan came by today, and he said that he could maybe ask Yggdrasil about letting me get out for a day or so."

The protozoan looked pleased at the thought: it wasn't often that _he_ got out, either.

"Maybe we could go catch up with Dad! He's on his journey of world whatever, so it'd just be a matter of finding him- can't be too hard. We'd be helping Cruxis too, so things would work out." Lloyd sighed wistfully. "I can just see it now, Noishe. There we are, walking through, I don't know, a forest or something. And the air doesn't smell like it's been filtered, and the sky's actually blue, and the wind's breezing along, and it's just the three of us, having a good time.

"And maybe the Chosen, I guess. And the priests that go along with the Chosen. Do you think they'd be any fun at all?"

Noishe did his best at a shrug.

"I'm sure they're open-minded. Anyone's more open-minded than the people around here. You can't even call them people. They're all _fake_. That's what Derris Kharlan is, Noishe- fake. It's supposed to be some great model of utopia, but you can't really call this anything at all! It sucks!"

Lloyd took a deep breath. "Sorry, buddy, didn't mean to take that all out on you. I'm just a little frustrated, that's all. I've been really frustrated lately. Things just keep building up, you know? I feel like I'm headed toward something big, and I don't know what it is. But it's there, and I want to know, _badly_. And people won't tell me anything."

He scratched Noishe underneath his chin. "But you get me, right?"

Noishe licked him soundly again. Lloyd laughed as he tried to edge away. "Ha, glad to know that, Noishe!" He wiped his face off and stood up.

"Well, I think I better get going. Thanks a ton, Noishe. Talking to you…well, it made me feel a lot better. I've got all this stuff on my chest, obviously." He tossed a salute. "See you later!"

Noishe howled his goodbye and then settled down for a nap. Secrets were tiring to hold.

* * *

God, writing coherent Noishe interaction is a task.

Also, I usually don't listen to music while I write, but for some reason the Lloyd-Noishe scene came out completely while I was listening to Down to Earth from _Wall-E_. Kind of worked out, I guess.


	5. Tension Rising

"Lord Forcystus," the Desian grunt rapped out, "there is a man at the gates who wishes to speak to you."

Forcystus remained where he was, hunched over a display of blinking screens. "Who?"

"A 'Lord Aurion', sir!"

Aurion…_Kratos_ Aurion. The name stirred in Forcystus's memory. "Did he state his business?"

"No, he only asked to speak with you, sir."

Forcystus sighed and tore himself away from the mass of screens. He was not fond of company, but two factors prevented him from turning down his visitor: rank and interest. "Very well. Show him to my office. Tell him I will be with him shortly."

"Sir!" The grunt left to carry out his orders.

Kratos Aurion was indeed waiting for him when the Cardinal arrived at his office. The red-haired man was standing loosely next to his desk. _He looks almost exactly the same as that day…_

Forcystus closed the office door behind him, the lock clicking softly. At the sound of this, Aurion's head turned.

"Forcystus." The man inclined his head by way of greeting. "It has been a while."

The Cardinal slid cautiously into his chair. "So it has. Fourteen years, if I remember correctly." He motioned to the plush armchair across from him. "Please, sit down."

Aurion collapsed gracefully into the chair. "Your memory serves you well, but enough with formalities." He leaned forward. "I wanted to ask you something."

"And that would be…?" Forcystus could think of no business between him and Aurion, aside from the affair that had happened over a decade ago. But that had been cleared up shortly thereafter, and Aurion had never shown up again.

"A boy 'visited' your ranch recently. He is from Iselia."

"Ah, yes, him." Forcystus remembered being shown the camera footage. "What of it?"

"I was interested to know if you considered it a violation of your pact with the village." And Aurion was refreshingly direct as always, although the Cardinal could see no reason for an angel of Cruxis to be so concerned with one tiny village.

"He interrupted procedures. What do you think?"

"How exactly did he do so? I would imagine a boy to have minimal effect at best."

Forcystus frowned and laced his fingers in front of him. "He interacted with an older host body at the ranch. My men disciplined her."

"That sounds routine."

"She died shortly thereafter."

"And you are considering that the boy's fault?" Aurion was giving him a look of mild disbelief.

Forcystus snorted. "I am not an irrational man. Her direct death was no fault of his. One cannot be blamed for the physical shortcomings of another."

"I fail to see how this is a violation of the pact."

"Did I say it was?"

Aurion laughed quietly. "It seems I make too much of it."

"All the same, the boy upended my entire processing schedule. The Exsphere was still developing; our shipment will not meet the expected quota." And meeting expectations was incredibly important: he could not let himself be seen as lagging behind any of the other Cardinals.

"And this means…?"

"It means I have to find another host as soon as possible, so as to complete the Exsphere in time."

"And where will you find that?"

Forcystus shrugged. "Anywhere I feel like. There are plenty of humans to choose from."

He could tell that Aurion disliked this talk of humans as almost chattel by the way the other man's eyebrows furrowed and the sudden edge to his tone. "Surely one Exsphere's absence alone will not end the universe."

"Ah, but it's also a matter of pride," the Cardinal said. "I try to make this ranch a model in efficiency; it would not do to suddenly lower that standard."

"I see." Without warning, Aurion stood up with the same seamless grace. "It seems I have taken up too much of your time, Cardinal. By your leave…" He nodded and then left before Forcystus could properly comprehend what was going on.

"Wait!" The green-haired half elf stood up sharply from his desk, but to no avail: his words echoed lamely in the office. "…Damn." _Gods, the man is fast._

And that was, regrettably, the way Kratos Aurion worked. He was too elusive: he would show up, intrigue you, and then disappear without giving any substance at all. Forcystus ground his teeth. It was rare that a human interested him, but Aurion was such an enigma, wrapped as he was in his own honor (or lack thereof) and sense of dignity, that he almost presented himself as someone to be psychologically dissected.

Granted, that was more Cardinal Kvar's realm, but not all other Desians were brutes like Magnius.

* * *

Kratos put the ranch behind him as swiftly as possible, melting effortlessly into the surrounding forest as he made his way back to Iselia. His talk with Forcystus had gone…well, "badly" was not the word for it, but neither was "excellently". He had insured the safety of an entire village, but had also discovered the damnation of a single person. Who that person was remained to be seen, but what he still could not stand was that Forcystus could not for once put his prejudices behind him. The Cardinal was about as just as they came, but that hatred and disdain for humans had been beaten thoroughly into him, as it had all the others.

And if he came tomorrow to claim his replacement, would Kratos willingly stand up to him? Would he put himself in that kind of risk? When it came to the ranches, he had been standing idly by since forever; even when he had "interfered" with Anna it had been covert. If he opposed Forcystus, it would be in the open, in front of an audience. Could he do that?

It was a little pathetic: at one time, he could command crowds with ease; now, however, he questioned his every public action. The Kratos Aurion of eons ago, standing tall with a knight's pride, would surely be frowning in distaste at the state he had been reduced to in immortality.

His step slowed as he reentered the clearing he had been pacing frantically earlier in the afternoon.

The wind blew.

_I think you can do it. You're supposed to be capable, right, Kratos? "Capable" with a "K": misspelled just for you._

Kratos sighed. "You're terribly insistent."

* * *

There was no inn in Iselia. Kratos had no problem with that (he'd slept in worse locales) but he finally gave in to the villagers and allowed them to open up the schoolhouse for him. He had expected Raine to protest in particular, but the teacher seemed fine with allowing him into the building…provided he didn't touch any of her students' work. Kratos had reassured her to the best of his abilities, and was now standing in the near darkness, eyes fixed on the blackboard.

Excellent vision allowed him to see the day's lesson, laid out exactingly in white chalk. Those were his words, displayed for all the students to see, up there on the board: one of the first things he, Yuan, and Mithos had done upon creating Cruxis was to set up every legend, every tale, so that everything would be explained and go exactly as they had planned. It was unnerving to see his life's work written out in the hand of another as cold, hard facts.

A hero sacrificed himself and a goddess fled the world.

A successful world regeneration journey would seal the Desians.

Lies, lies, and more lies—but again, since when had his opinion actually mattered in the grand scheme of things? Kratos tore his eyes away from the blackboard and began searching for the most comfortable corner in the schoolhouse.

That night, he dreamed.

* * *

He was running fast. He could only hear his breath, loud and heavy and rattling up from his chest. There were leaves in his face from the branches on the trees. He ignored them. His hair was in his face, plastered almost over his eyes. He could not stop to push it out of his eyes. He had no time.

A clearing was up ahead. He could tell because it was lighter: there were no trees in addition to the gray clouds. She had to be there.

He burst into the clearing. True enough, there she lay, bloody and torn and _dead_.

He had killed her.

His breath caught in his throat as he bent down in the mud to look at her. "God damn it." He tried to look away, but he could not. "God damn it."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the flash of pale green in between the gray and green-colored leaves. He jerked up, shivering, and walked into the foliage, pushing the wet leaves out of his way. "Noishe." A little louder. "Noishe."

The animal was curled up in a tight ball, wedged into the greenery. It whined and shook.

"Noishe, Lloyd—I…" He saw the boy- his boy- curled up, asleep. Noishe's tail curled around him like a scarf.

"Lloyd!" He bent down. The protozoan loosed its grip. His hands shook as he scooped the boy up. He stumbled backwards out of the brush.

It was pouring now. The rain seeped into his clothes, soaking him. The ground was stained red from the blood. He stood there in the rain. His mind told him he ought to leave, but he could not move. It was as if he was a tree, and he had grown roots.

"Lord Aurion." The cold bolt of a crossbow touched the side of his neck. He did not move. The words were repeated and the bolt this time pushed until he could feel it cut into the skin, but just barely.

He could not move, standing there holding his son in the rain, surrounded by blood and green, gray leaves.

"Surrender."

His free hand went up, steady in the storm, acting on its own.

"Leave him to me," a man said. "I want to speak to him alone."

The halls of Derris Kharlan were dark. They had lights: small, flickering lanterns which burned like stars. But Derris Kharlan was still dark. At one time maybe it had been lighter. At one time it had been the world of the elves. Now it was someone else's domain.

He sat there in the dark and cold of his room and watched the boy sleep. His right hand slowly slid through the boy's hair. His eyes shone wetly in the dark, but he was not crying.

* * *

Kratos sat up with a gasp, his heart pounding in his ears as if he were running for his life even though the dream always ended with that still, quiet moment, that moment of utter frustration.

His hands balled tightly into fists. Every time he dreamed, he willed himself _just this once_ to move from that spot in the clearing, to sprint out of sight away from Forcystus with Lloyd and escape. But every time he was helpless as things played out exactly as they had originally occurred, as if his subconscious was mocking him for both his indecisiveness and the way he was chained to fate.

He was too distracted to return to sleep now, and Kratos sighed heavily before turning his gaze out of one of the schoolhouse windows. It was early morning, although the stars were still blazing in lieu of the sun. He could see them: innumerous globes of light, shining, framing a helmet—

_A helmet_.

Kratos was instantly on guard, instincts kicking in as his hand found the Flamberge's hilt. He pressed himself further into the wall of the schoolhouse as a torch-toting Desian passed by.

"Nothing in this dump. Keep going."

"You sure? I swear I saw something move in there."

"You say that all the time, you nut."

Kratos held his breath, not daring to move until semi-darkness once again fell on most of the schoolhouse. When the coast was clear enough he sprinted out of the schoolhouse, not even bothering to shrug on his cloak.

His first stop was the Chosen's house: it was imperative that she remained safe if Desians were about. Hiding near the side of the Brunels' house in a small clump of trees, he analyzed the situation. Forcystus's men were already pounding on the door, even though the house was dark. There were only about two or three of them; he could handle this easily.

Kratos let out a low whistle, pitched so that it would carry directly into the patrol's ears. True to form they all came running into the trees, perfect targets for an ambush from behind. The seraph dispatched them all silently and then rolled their bodies into the underbrush. He slunk to the front door and, looking casually about, kicked it open. The door swung crazily on its hinges, threatening to slam into the wall, but he was inside in a flash and snagged the door, closing it quietly behind him and fixing the lock.

Inside it was eerily quiet- but not quiet enough for his ears. Kratos closed his eyes and concentrated on his surroundings. Slowly, over the cacophony of screams and curses from outside, he was able to make out the shallow breathing of one…two…three people. He padded quietly through the house, following his lead. A closet door loomed in front of him. He tried it: locked, of course.

"Chosen," Kratos murmured.

A high-pitched "Mr. Aurion!" was quickly stifled from inside the closet.

Kratos knocked quietly on the door. "Can you hear me?"

"Y-yes…" The voice that answered, however, was that of the girl's father, a…Frank, he recalled.

"Good. Stay here. Do not, under any circumstances, open this door. Not until this business is concluded."

"Sir Aurion, what is going on?" That would be Phaidra's creaky tones.

"Desians." Kratos waited a moment before resuming speaking. "I will take care of them." He moved away from the door and went back into the main room. One of the windows opened to the opposite side of the house, toward the temple. He pulled aside the curtains and unlatched it slowly, opening the window and then the shutters. Kratos took a moment to reflect before easing himself through the window: when was the last time he had resorted to such an ungainly method to leave?

Ah, yes, how could he have forgotten: with Anna at that one particular inn.

He dropped mutely to the ground below and rolled to the side, listening carefully for any Desians. None were coming. He stood up and nonchalantly closed the shutters.

It was time to find Forcystus.

* * *

Another day (or was it night? In Derris Kharlan, one could never be sure) had passed, and Yuan felt as if he had gotten nowhere. Plotting things required intensive concentration, none of which he could get in a place where Yggdrasil seemed to be constantly breathing down his neck, even with the door locked. He'd finally given up on his thoughts and stormed out of his room to once again stalk the hallways. Walking aimlessly would give him something to do- a bit of fresh air, even though Derris Kharlan lacked that as well.

He turned a corner sharply enough to send his cape fluttering out behind him dramatically—and nearly crashed into the very last person he wanted to see.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yggdrasil's elegant features were twisted into a scowl.

"I'm walking. Any laws against that?" Yuan asked, trying to maintain eye contact- which was difficult: Yggdrasil, as usual, was hovering, meaning that he kept bobbing ever so slightly.

"Well watch where you're going," Yggdrasil shot back.

Even during their travels during the Kharlan War, the two had been on unsteady grounds: Yuan hadn't appreciated how Mithos scorned him, and Mithos hadn't appreciated how Yuan sapped Martel's divine attention with his affections. It was strange, however, how a dark mood could send them both into the throes of childish tantrums. They were more alike than they thought.

"That's my line," Yuan snapped.

They engaged in a murderous staring contest for another ten seconds before finally Yggdrasil said sullenly, "I was looking for you." He seemed loath to admit that fact.

"Really." Yuan adopted a Kratos-like stance, folding his arms and raising one eyebrow in perfect imitation.

Yggdrasil's eyes narrowed, but the seraph chose not to comment. "Yes, I was."

"And for what reason?" Yuan decided that he ought to start acting like Kratos around Yggdrasil much more: it seemed to make the other half-elf much more tolerable. _And we all know Kratos can tolerate just about everything._

"I've made my decision concerning your request," Yggdrasil said, and suddenly he was back on his high horse, smirking in a way that Yuan did not like at all.

Of course, that also meant exactly what kind of decision he'd come to. But Yuan would have to humor him. "And that is…?"

"No, and don't even try to put something like that past me again."

"You ought to have just told me that in the first place instead of leading me on like you were actually going to consider it," Yuan said. He shouldn't have even bothered to hope for a miracle either.

"It was amusing," Yggdrasil said with a shrug. "I thought it at least deserved a second of my time if you were really going to be so _stupid_."

"So you think running me through the gauntlet is funny, eh?" Yuan had an ugly look on his face.

Yggdrasil laughed. "I must admit that it's fast becoming a form of entertainment." He brushed past Yuan, still bloody _hovering_. "Good night, Yuan."

Yuan gritted his teeth and mentally counted to ten, trying hard not to actually let his fury be known; it would only encourage Yggdrasil. "Good night," he spat. He could hear Yggdrasil's taunting laughter echoing down the hall, filling the lifeless comet.

Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered trying to hold a conversation with the brat.

* * *

The dream/flashback sequence was inserted because, well, that scene deserves to be at least attempted. I tried to write kind of like Hemingway, with all the objective, concentrated sentences to get a sort of detachment. Hemingway is difficult to emulate. I blame it on his macho-ness. (And conciseness- what is that?)

And I hope I'm doing Forcystus justice. I've actually never written him before.


	6. A Crack in the Ice

Forcystus, standing in the village square, hid a yawn: it was early morning, true, but he had to cut the proper figure. Intimidation was necessary to get the villagers to cooperate; as much as he disliked resorting to it, he needed to get things done. One could not just waltz into a place and say, "Hello, I'd like to kidnap a person for my ranch. Do you have any spares?" That would only happen if the world were made of bunnies and roses, which it was_ not._

"Sir, we've rounded up all of the residents," a helmeted Desian reported, saluting crisply.

"Excellent work. Try to make sure that no one runs too amok, would you, Lieutenant?" He didn't want the entire village burned down; that would mean the end to his supply.

Forcystus took the moment to remind himself what humans had done to his people and, heart properly hardened, began to speak. "People of Iselia…"

He paused to let their outraged cries wash over him. _They would make you nothing more than a smear in a history book. They are inferior._

"I am Forcystus, one of the five Desian Grand Cardinals. I am the supervisor at the human ranch with which you humans have made a pact, a pact in which you promised to stay out of our business." His voice carried over the crackling of torches.

_They despise you. They hate you. They are pigs._

"However, a boy from your village interfered yesterday with one of the host bodies at my ranch."

The boy in question, he noticed, nearly wet himself.

"While I will be lenient and not consider this a violation of our pact" –all the villagers noticeably relaxed- "there is still the matter of the impact of this little visit. One of my hosts died prematurely as a result; therefore I am in need of a new body to replace her."

"N-no!" The boy squeaked.

Instantly, the entire crowd's heads had turned to look at him.

"You have an objection?" Forcystus asked, catching the half elf boy with a piercing stare.

The boy shied away. "N-not at all, sir!"

"But I do."

Again the crowd followed the sound of a person's voice, but Forcystus did not have to look to know who the owner of that baritone was.

"So you are looking to your roots," he said conversationally.

"As you are yours," Kratos responded. "You know this is not right."

Forcystus laughed. "What is right? What is wrong? In the end, it is all subjective." He trained his gun arm on the man. "Do not stand in my way."

The seraph, in response, raised his sword. "Leave, Forcystus."

It was a stalemate- for both knew exactly who they were up against- only broken when suddenly the guilty party spoke up: "I'll replace Marble."

"Genis!" The older Sage looked shocked, and with good reason.

The mayor of Iselia rounded on the boy. "How do you know her name?"

Genis trembled but managed to reply, "Because she was my friend!"

"I knew it!" The mayor threw himself at the younger Sage, only to find the Professor holding him back with all her might. "I knew you were up to something yesterday! And now look at what you've done! You've condemned all of the innocent people here!" He threw Raine aside and delivered a punch that landed squarely on Genis's right cheek. The young half elf fell to the ground with a cry.

"How dare you!" Raine raised a hand, intent on returning the favor. Someone else, however, beat her to the punch- literally.

"_Off_," Forcystus snarled.

The gun arm fired, its muzzle aimed directly at the mayor's head. Before Kratos could react fast enough to block it the blast had reached its target, the sickening impact sending blood and brains every which way. The corpse fell with a thud, its limbs still twitching in its death throes.

Kratos swore as civilians scattered. At this rate, things would turn into a bloodbath: the Desians, trying to herd the people of Iselia back into a group, were failing—and resorting to violence. He turned to the one person who could possibly do anything to prevent utter chaos. "Forcystus!"

However, the Cardinal was beyond caring. The image of seeing a _human_ beat down a half elf- a child, at that- had gone too far. "Burn it all," he said. His voice shook with rage. "Burn this goddamn place to the ground." Forcystus raised his gun arm once more and trained it on the nearest target: a woman attempting to flee with her child. "I'll _kill them all_."

This time, Kratos was ready, leaping in to deflect the energy. The impact sent vibrations up and down his arm, but he held firm.

Behind him, the woman whimpered.

"Get out of here," Kratos said tersely. "Run. Run now."

"I can't; I just can't…"

"You can. Now run. Don't look back. Leave." He heard her scramble to her feet and scoop her child into her arms.

"The Desians…"

"_Run_." Kratos put more force into his voice, and this time was rewarded with the scramble of feet. He would have paid attention to see if she had escaped successfully, but at that moment Forcystus chose to cast Wind Blade. The seraph rolled to the side to avoid it.

"Do you see what they do to us?" Forcystus demanded, advancing on Kratos. Somewhere in the distance a terrible moan went up as another house fell to Desian torches. "This is a battle for survival. They'll wipe us out unless we do something about them."

"Stop this," Kratos said in a low voice. "…Grand Cardinal Forcystus!"

Forcystus paused and then seemed to see Kratos for what he really was. "You have no right," he growled. "You have no right to address me like that!" The gun arm yawned wide as it fired off a barrage of shots.

Kratos tossed up a Guardian spell in defense. The flames were higher now; he could feel the heat scorching his back. "I respected you," he hissed.

"And I you," Forcystus shot back. "But you'd protect them despite their injustice, and that _I will not stand for_." He fired off another round.

They were beyond words, it seemed; it was time to fight. Kratos sidestepped and dove in with the Flamberge: Forcystus was a danger from long-range, but the gun arm couldn't be used as effectively when the combat was close. He sliced upward, and Forcystus by some miracle managed to bring his gun arm down in time to meet the Flamberge halfway. They struggled, each trying to overcome the other.

It was too late that Forcystus noticed the rune spiraling beneath them. "What the—?"

"I apologize," Kratos said. "_Thunder Blade_." He pushed off of Forcystus, using the momentum to push himself out of range as the thunder spell activated, striking the Cardinal directly.

Forcystus howled, smoke rolling off of his singed clothing as he struggled to remain standing. He was trembling: electrical shock was a _bitch_. "God…damn…it, Kratos Aurion…!"

"_Double Demon Fang_." Kratos swept the Flamberge twice, not bothering to watch the shockwaves as he circled Forcystus and attacked his left.

The shockwaves, however, had the adverse effect: their impact caused the Cardinal to regain his senses. "Not again, no you don't!" Forcystus twisted and grabbed the Flamberge by the blade, not caring as it bit deep into his palm. With his other hand he primed the gun arm and fired directly into Kratos's side.

The seraph was blasted backwards, crashing through a nearby fence with a hoarse scream of pain. Forcystus had time only to grin savagely before he doubled over, hacking up blood: the recoil at such close range was deadly, and he had not truly recovered from Kratos's spell.

Meanwhile, Kratos twitched amidst the wreckage of the fence, trying to force himself get up, get up and fight! His nerves were screaming bloody murder, and in the background he could hear the sounds of a terribly one-sided battle between Desian and villager. This was not how he had wanted things to begin, not like this. This was only meant to be a journey, not a war…

_And isn't this situation familiar? A person dead because you weren't fast enough. A Cardinal at your feet but alive because you are far too kind. _

_Pathetic._

With a roar Kratos pushed himself to his feet and staggered forward, one hand still grasping the Flamberge and the other yanking splinters of wood roughly out of his shoulder. The Cruxis Crystal helped in numbing his nerves, but at this point, with adrenalin singing in his veins, he had transcended pain by his own will. Blood trickled from his hairline, stained the corners of his mouth, streamed from his side, but still he put one foot slowly in front of the other, inching his way back onto the field of battle.

His mind was no longer fully in reality; it had altered the scenery to fit that other day, the one he had promised himself never to forget. This was exactly the same. This time his dream would play out the right way.

Forcystus likewise had 'risen from the ashes', so to speak, although this time a chill went through him as he met the other man's eyes: They were gleaming, shining with a light that Forcystus, in all his days, had never seen before. There was only one other person who had, and he had been left bed-ridden for three years after staring into those eyes.

_Is this how you felt, Kvar, facing Death?

* * *

_

Pronyma stepped gingerly around the corpse of a Desian. Lord Yggdrasil had warned her that Lord Aurion was possibly a loose cannon, but she didn't think he would be _this_ unhinged.

Maybe he was just suicidal. That would explain things.

She scanned the village. Forcystus's men were slowly filtering out in a sorry state, dragging their mangled Cardinal with them back to the ranch. (Lord Aurion had done a thorough job, as always.) The villagers, for the most part, were either dead or hiding, probably too scared to approach the 'war zone'. That made things better: she did not want her presence revealed as she tried to make a detailed report.

Pronyma found Lord Aurion facedown in the dirt, completely unresponsive. She prodded him gingerly with a booted toe: the man was also lying in a puddle of blood. The source of it was made easily known: something- or rather, some_one_- had blown a hole through his side.

With his luck, she mused, he'd be a corpse by now. She poked him again.

"…stop…" the corpse croaked. Her foot had awoken him.

"Lord Aurion," Pronyma said stiffly.

Lord Aurion turned his head slightly so that one brown eye stared up at her. "Pronyma. I should have known."

"I don't understand what you mean."

The eye closed. "Of course Yggdrasil needs to send a hawk to watch his dog for him…"

"Well, considering what you've done, I think it's quite necessary."

She watched in sordid fascination as Lord Aurion slowly forced himself to his knees. Here was a man used to keeping his exterior devoid of feeling trying so hard in the midst of great pain to stay impassive. It intrigued Pronyma, to say the least.

"I would have thought you one to stay in the shadows." He pulled a face. She noticed the shine of mana at his fingers; he was already trying to heal himself.

The Cardinal crossed her arms. "Every detail is important."

He looked up at her, hair falling as always over one of his eyes. "Forcystus…?"

"You nearly killed him," Pronyma said bitingly, choosing not to needle him about the change in subject.

Lord Aurion sighed. "I never wanted to make an enemy out of him."

"I'm sure Cardinal Forcystus will be _thrilled_ to know that."

A sharp look. "Please."

Pronyma turned away and walked toward one of the ruined buildings of the little town. "I'm sure the villagers will be just as happy with you." She looked back toward the seraph. "Are you honestly always this stupid?"

Lord Aurion struggled to his feet, his wound nearly closed (she could see it, still angry and red, through the hole in his clothes) but obviously still hurting. "Are you honestly always this annoying?"

Pronyma tossed her hair. "I'm not the one who needs to be more careful. Might I remind you that Lord Yggdrasil has—"

Lord Aurion cut her off. "—stated that he will kill my son if I fail. Yes, I'm well aware of that fact, Pronyma." He spat out her name as if it were some foul substance.

She stared at him as if he were a small child and had just asked her an incredibly stupid question. "So what are you doing fighting Forcystus and wasting time? You should know better; you should have simply left with the Chosen right then and there."

He didn't respond, and she knew that it was his omnipresent chivalry that kept him from acting like a petulant child and starting an argument—which made him only more fun to provoke. She liked seeing how far men could go before they broke.

"Well?"

The seraph sheathed his sword. "Leave, Pronyma."

"Excuse me?" The Cardinal frowned. "Since when does a dog order a hawk around?"

He deflected her jab with ease. "When a dog's bite is more than his bark, he deserves to be heeded."

Pronyma regarded him, filthy and bloody and dusty. "You're hardly in any state to start another fight, Lord Aurion."

"But a fight is hardly my intention. Leave. Tell Yggdrasil that everything is proceeding smoothly."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You expect me to consider all this as 'proceeding smoothly'?"

"You heard me correctly. Now fly away, little bird. Chirp elsewhere."

Her feathers had been ruffled. "How _dare_ you!" She slapped him swiftly on the cheek, his head snapping to the side with the impact.

Lord Aurion regarded her serenely out of the corner of his eye. "Must I repeat myself?"

His insolence did not deem a response. She shot him a poisonous look, turned on her heel, and walked stiffly out of the town, seething. How dare he call her that! How dare he insinuate that she was weak, that he could bully her into submission! He, the traitor, the despicable traitor- where did he find the _nerve_?

Pronyma gritted her teeth. Oh yes, Lord Yggdrasil would hear of this.

* * *

Kratos exhaled slowly, aware that his breath was painfully loud in the deathly empty square. So Yggdrasil had tied him to Pronyma; it would make things burdensome. The Cardinal had no love for him, considered him beneath her, for a fact. She would take this opportunity to exert her will as a slave driver, herding him from seal to seal with the Chosen, a never-ceasing flurry of movement meant to drive him to exhaustion and meek submission. But he had to overcome her will: Lloyd and Anna both would disapprove if he fell to _Pronyma_ of all people.

The seraph stared dazedly around him. He could not remember what had transpired; his last memory before everything disintegrated into a crimson fog was seeing Forcystus and hating the man with every fiber of his body. It was irrational; it was unexplainable; most of all, it _was not him_. Kratos shuddered; he did not want to lose control now of all times. He had to remain iron-willed and see the journey of world regeneration to its end.

He closed his eyes and willed himself back into a state of calm. After a few seconds or so his eyes flew open. He needed to find Colette and whatever survivors there were.

* * *

Day Two (or was it Three?) _sans_ Kratos had just begun, and already Lloyd was feeling like crap. Breakfast without his father to listen to him meant that the boy was forced to keep all of the ideas bursting inside of him to himself: it just wasn't the same redirecting them to some inanimate object. He had tried writing them all down on a piece of paper, but they seemed so listless, so...unimaginative.

And now he was draped across the couch in their sparse quarters, toying with a data pad he had found lying around. There wasn't much on it that he hadn't already looked at, but it was better than doing just plain nothing. Yup, he was bored. Again. This sucked.

Just as Lloyd considered visiting the library for the five millionth time, there was a knock at the door. He dragged himself off of the couch and yelled half-heartedly, "Who is it?"

"It's Yuan."

"Right, I'll be there in a second." He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hey Yuan, how's it going?"

The blue half-elf nodded politely. "Well enough, thank you."

"Did you ask Yggdrasil yet about that thing I asked you about?" Lloyd's eyes lit up for a brief moment. "And—oh shit! Er, I mean—oh, whatever. Uh…why don't you come in and sit down or something?"

Yuan gave Lloyd a funny look as he swept in and sat down at the kitchen table. "I did ask him about it," he began slowly.

"And? And? What'd he say?" Lloyd knew that the chances of things going his way were next to none, but that didn't stop him from being an optimist on this occasion.

"Yggdrasil said no."

Lloyd's face fell like a rock. "Oh."

Yuan tried his best to save the situation. "Well, in hindsight, we shouldn't have gotten our hopes up so high. This is Yggdrasil we're talking about; I think he'd be rather averse to changing his ways so suddenly."

"…guess you're right," Lloyd said in a small voice.

They sat there awkwardly, both of them trying not to admit that things had gone terribly wrong, and that they had been idealistic fools.

"I…suppose I should be going," Yuan finally said, standing up slowly. He scrambled for the right words to say. "I'm sorry, Lloyd."

"No, it's no big deal," the boy said, standing up as well and running a hand through his hair. "It was my fault for putting so much pressure on you. I guess I got ahead of myself." He looked at Yuan and burst out laughing. "We're both idiots."

Yuan hated to admit that, but he reluctantly smiled. "I guess so."

"Thanks for telling me, though," Lloyd said, walking over to open the door for the half-elf. "Now I won't waste a bunch of energy being excited." There was no hint of sarcasm whatsoever. "That's a good thing…I guess."

"It's wonderful," Yuan said in a detached tone. He patted Lloyd on the shoulder as he left. "I'll still keep a weather eye out for you; I owe you that much in Kratos's absence."

Lloyd smiled genuinely. "Thanks." He waved and then retreated into their quarters, closing the door quietly behind him. The young swordsman slid down the door, finally ending up sitting on the floor.

"Damn it."

* * *

In his office, Yggdrasil listened intently as Pronyma made her report. "I see," he said, nodding as she finished. "Well, it's only natural that our Lord Aurion tests the length of his leash, although I'm surprised that he would do so at such an early stage in the game."

"He is insolent. I fear that this behavior is only the beginning," Pronyma warned. Although Lord Aurion had only mildly mocked her, she had also made sure in her report to elevate his insult to near blasphemy. She would not see Lord Aurion survive his attack on Forcystus unscathed: he had damaged her ego far too much.

Yggdrasil laughed. "It would be certainly a change for him. He thinks too rationally to be outspoken."

"But what if this was to escalate to the level of the incident fourteen years ago, my lord?" Pronyma queried.

Her words had their effect: Yggdrasil's eyes darkened. "He would not _dare_."

"My lord, if I may be so bold, perhaps you should be more attentive to his actions," Pronyma hesitantly suggested. "Shorten his leash and wipe out any possibility of straying…"

"You speak some logic," Yggdrasil asserted. "I admit that he did seem to be somewhat out of control according to your report."

"Lord Forcystus would certainly vouch for your assessment, were he not in critical condition," Pronyma said with a nod. _He is so close to agreeing; I cannot afford to mess this up now._

The leader of Cruxis sat in thought for several minutes, his loyal Cardinal standing attentively before him, even though she was nearly bouncing in anticipation.

"Very well," Yggdrasil said suddenly. "Tell Kratos that he cannot afford any more 'incidents'. Tell him that he is to move to the prescribed tempo, not his own. As my representative, Pronyma, you are to insure that he and the Chosen maintain an appropriate pace." He smiled thinly. "Tell him there will be consequences if he continues to act so rashly. He will know exactly what I mean."

Pronyma bowed deeply, expertly hiding her joy. "As you wish, my lord." Her victory achieved, she retreated from her lord's chambers.

Yggdrasil continued to mull over this newest issue long after his Cardinal had departed. It was uncharacteristic of Kratos Aurion to let his fury get the better of him; fourteen years to date had passed without further incident. There had to be some catalyst for this change, and he had a good idea who.

_Like father, like son.

* * *

_

As you can tell, I get anxious about action scenes. There will be better ones later, I promise!

Also, I understand that Kratos got kind of out of control this chapter, but really, a guy can only take so much compounded stress before he snaps.

And maybe I'm dragging out the dog metaphor too much, but I'm ridiculously attached to it.


	7. Consequential Consequences

Kratos found the Brunels huddled on their front steps. Their house was remarkably unscathed, but it did not hide the blood spattered on the dusty ground nor did it hide the bodies splayed around it. The village had apparently given its all to protect the world's savior, and Kratos vowed not to let their payment be voided.

He stepped slowly through the carnage, carefully avoiding every body, Desian or Iselian. A battlefield was sacred ground; to tread so lightly upon the fallen was to ignore the effort that had been put forth. Kratos stopped not more than three feet away from the girl.

"Colette." Her name hung in the space between them.

She looked up with tear-stained eyes, carefully disentangling herself from the arms of her father and grandmother. "I'm sorry, Mr. Aurion."

"There is nothing to apologize for."

"Are you alright?" He could feel her eyes drifting over the dark stains on his shirt and the dried blood on his lip. Only someone exceptional would be able to look away from such trauma and destruction and ask another after their own well-being. He commended her silently: strong, indeed.

"I am alive," Kratos said in a wry tone. "And that is 'alright' for me."

Colette smiled weakly for him. "That's good." She stood up and brushed herself off. "We were very worried about you," she said matter-of-factly.

Her grandmother spoke up: "Sir Aurion, what happened?"

"Cardinal Forcystus and I…disagreed," Kratos said. He had slipped into his habit of keeping his face unreadable and his voice a monotone. "But he has left now."

He could feel the unasked question probing deeper in the air, but thankfully the Brunels decided to not capitalize on their curiosity.

"The Professor's at the schoolhouse healing people," Colette suddenly said. "In case you were wondering where she was."

"Do you think she will be done within an hour or so?"

"I don't think so." The girl blinked as realization set in. "Oh…"

"Yes, another change in plans. We have no time to waste."

And now it was her father's turn to speak. "Wait, Sir Aurion, are you sure this is a good idea? The village…Iselia is…"

"We cannot afford to linger," Kratos said firmly even though his heart suddenly felt heavy. "The Desians could return any day; the longer your daughter stays here, the more dangerous it will be for her. I doubt Forcystus in particular will be so benevolent to Iselia in the future."

"I see," Frank said softly. He turned to his daughter. "Colette…"

The Chosen pulled her father close. "Don't worry; I'll be fine. I know everyone will be rooting for me. Thank you so much."

_Does she know?_ Kratos wondered. _Does she know what awaits her at the end of this journey? Do _they _know_?

"Make us proud, Colette," Phaidra said. She looked at Kratos. "Keep her safe, Sir Aurion."

Kratos nodded. "Of course." He extended a hand to Colette.

The Chosen of Sylvarant took one last look at her family, knowing full well that this would probably the last time she would see them, and then turned away to face Kratos.

"I'm ready," she said. She took his offered hand and walked through the maze of death, only tripping once.

Frank watched his daughter fade from his vision before turning away with a heavy sigh. Someone needed to tell Raine.

* * *

Lloyd had finally given in to his last resort plans: a trip to the archives. The goal was to so utterly immerse himself in some text (that he'd probably read about six times already) that he'd forget about time and look up from said text some six hours later. Then it would be lunch, and then it would be…something else.

The young swordsman growled in frustration and slammed the door behind him as he set off toward the stacks of books and hopefully an escape.

"Well maybe first I'll read those supply logs from the Kharlan War- haven't looked at those in a while- and then next something on Summon Spirits…" Lloyd mumbled his reading list to himself as he opened his stride: the path to Derris Kharlan's extensive library was ingrained in his feet's subconscious; they would know what turns to make out of habit. "Maybe Exspheres instead?"

Supply logs and research diatribes both made for questionable reading, but that was what one was driven to out of sheer boredom. To be honest, Lloyd found some enjoyment in reading through records and lists: his imagination (which no one else seemed to have) allowed him to dream up some situation where he had received this list and in the same gesture some form of responsibility. Lives and success were in his hands; now, what would he do? Only fifteen barrels of salted pork left for an army of ten thousand? Well, solving that issue would mean having to look up the flora and fauna of the region. In short, it was all a game in which he pitted his brain (which worked _most_ of the time) against the problems of the ancient world- the world of his father.

His hand found the worn handle of the door to the library, and the lock gave as he opened the door and walked in. Once inside, Lloyd heaved a sigh of relief: hardly anyone ever came down here. Lifeless angels had no use for the dusty annals of the past, and he'd rarely seen Yggdrasil prowling the shelves. Here he could be by himself and not have to deal with the cold world outside.

Lloyd smiled at the gilt-edged volumes waiting for him. "Hey, what's up, guys?"

Now to find that supply list…

* * *

It did not take very long for Genis to catch up with them. Kratos and Colette had barely left the village gates when the half-elf boy had sprinted up to them, heavily out of breath.

"Genis!" Colette exclaimed, naturally warming to her friend.

"Don't…leave…without me," Genis managed to wheeze, bent double though he was. "…won't let you!"

Kratos frowned. "And what do you think you're doing?"

Genis straightened up. "I'm coming with you!"

"That's wonderful!" Colette exclaimed.

The seraph could not help but notice how cheery Colette had gotten. This was unfortunate: they couldn't afford to drag Genis around. "Tell me why," he ordered.

"Because I want to," Genis said emphatically.

"That's hardly a good reason." Kratos nailed him with a look he'd often used on Lloyd when he was misbehaving.

Genis gulped. "Uh…well…"

Kratos merely raised an eyebrow in response.

Finally the boy owned up in a garbled string of words: "It's all my fault that the village got destroyed and everyone who's still alive really _hates_ me now and Raine tried to tell them and me both that it wasn't all my fault but it really was and now I've got to make it up to them and I think—"

"Slow down," Kratos said. "Neither of us can understand a word you're saying."

Genis stared at the ground in front of him. "Basically, I got tossed out."

"What?" Colette was staring at her friend in abject shock. "Tossed you out? But you ran here!"

Kratos bit back a groan. "Tossed out as in 'banished'."

"Banished? Banished? Wait…_banished_?" The Chosen's eyes grew as wide as plates. "Oh no…Genis!"

"Well, I did kind of start things by visiting the ranch…" Genis said, keeping his eyes firmly on the interesting patch of grass in front of him.

"Oh no, that's terrible! I know- we'll go back right now and I'll talk to them. They can't banish you!"

"No, don't!" The half-elf burst out. When both Kratos and Colette stared at him he backed up nervously. "Well, you know, I feel like I need to do something to make it up to them before I come back, and if you stick up for me, they'll all think I'm just hiding behind you- which I won't let myself do!"

"I wonder," Kratos remarked (mostly to himself), "is it pride that drives you?"

"…what?" Genis blinked.

Kratos froze and realized that he now had two pairs of questioning eyes trained on him. "Nothing." He turned to Colette, eager to redirect attention. "I will leave the decision-making up to you."

"Wow, really?"

"You are the Chosen. I'm meant to defer to you."

"Oh. Well, um, in that case…both Kratos and I would be more than happy to let you come with us, Genis!"

"Wow, thanks, Colette! I promise I won't be a hassle!"

Kratos interrupted their celebration. "Does your sister know about this?"

Genis's cheery mood suddenly turned somber. "She understood," he said, and there was no need for any other words.

The seraph sighed and gestured toward the open road. "Very well, let us proceed."

* * *

Lloyd was currently reading his fifth battle account when suddenly his stomach growled, _loudly_. He tried to ignore it and press on: any distraction would cause him to regain a sense of time, which he was currently trying to distance himself from. Unfortunately, his body felt otherwise: Lloyd winced as his stomach turned to a series of gurgles to make its point.

"Aw man…" He set the volume aside, dropping it onto the stack next to him, and stretched before standing up shakily. How much time had passed? He'd read through nearly six books; his average was about one every hour (alright, they were only fifty pages or so…). It wasn't too bad of an effort.

Stomach still groaning pathetically, Lloyd dragged himself reluctantly out of the archives and back to his room. _So, Chef Aurion, what's on the menu today? Oh! Protein burgers? Gee, I haven't had those for the past _five days straight.

He wrenched the door open, flicked on the lights…and nearly gave himself a heart attack.

"Holy shit!"

Yggdrasil, sitting serenely at the Aurion kitchen table, regarded the nails on his right hand for a moment before looking at Lloyd. "That's an _excellent_ way to greet people," he drawled.

Lloyd inched into the room, closing the door behind him. "Sorry, uh…sir."

Yggdrasil laughed. "The boy has manners!"

In the face of mocking, Lloyd let his formality slip. "Hey, I'm not some heathen or something! Geez…"

The blond half-elf continued to chuckle. "And a vocabulary!"

And that was about all young Aurion could take. "Alright, wonderful, I can speak properly," he said hotly. "Now what the hell are you sitting in my kitchen for?"

The look Yggdrasil sent him told Lloyd that he had used the wrong tone. "What was that?" he demanded.

"Why are you here?"

"Because we need to have a little talk," Yggdrasil said silkily. "Now sit down, son of Kratos."

Lloyd slid slowly into the opposite seat. "I have a name, you know," he said.

Yggdrasil ignored him. "You don't have to sit like someone's poured ice water down your back."

"Sorry," Lloyd muttered as he relaxed.

The half-elf leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Now I'm sure you're wondering two things: how I got in and what's so important that I would actually deem it necessary to talk to you."

"Yeah…"

"To address your first question: that's none of your business. To address your second: I would think you smart enough to figure that out yourself, although I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't." Yggdrasil smiled lazily. It gave him the appearance of a fox licking its chops as it peered into the unlocked chicken coop.

"It's about my dad—er, Kratos."

"So sure?" Yggdrasil watched as Lloyd jumped and opened his mouth to second-guess himself. He laughed airily. "No, no, you are correct, boy. This is about your father."

"And what about him? He hasn't talked to me since you left, if that's what you wanted to know. It's only been a day or so."

Yggdrasil frowned. "Only a day, and your father's already managed to nearly burn down an entire town and almost kill a Cardinal. Tell me, boy, where does your father- _my knight_- get these bizarre destructive tendencies?"

Lloyd honestly didn't know. He was as equally surprised as Yggdrasil to know that Kratos, of all people, had been causing mayhem, because Kratos just wasn't that kind of guy. Wanton destruction was the realm of roadside bandits, not of a knight whose values were still stuck in four thousand-plus years Before Lloyd. "You got me on that one," he admitted.

The leader of Cruxis's eyes grew dangerous. "Don't play around. I know you had a hand in this, even if you weren't aware of it."

Lloyd could not believe the unfairness of this. "Hey, I didn't tell him to do anything like this! All I told him before he left was to get serious and not end up dead! I mean, _come on_!"

Yggdrasil sighed. "There are other ways of changing a man's heart, boy. Did you ever ask him, perhaps, about leaving Derris Kharlan? I know you've certainly asked Yuan, and if you've asked that idiot, you've most certainly asked your father."

"Well, all I said was that I wanted to see the two worlds for once. I wasn't telling him to rebel or anything. It would have been like…like a field trip or something."

Yggdrasil laughed again, silvery tones falling harshly on Lloyd's ears. "The innocence of youth- how we all wish we had that still." He leaned in closer until blond strands brushed against Lloyd's cheek. The boy shuddered and pulled away. "Don't be ridiculous," he hissed.

Lloyd flinched and looked away. "Look, I…"

"I don't want to hear any excuses." Yggdrasil reached over and grabbed Lloyd's chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Understand this well, son of Kratos: if you so much as _twitch_ out of line, I swear I will never even let you _dream_. As for your father…"

The mention of Kratos caused Lloyd to flare up; he jerked himself out of Yggdrasil's grasp. "If you do anything to my dad, I swear I'll—!"

Yggdrasil chuckled. "You'll do what? Hurt me? Don't be so stupid. You're entirely human, boy." He stood up. "And it seems I have nothing more to say to you."

Lloyd didn't say anything, content to sit in his chair seething.

The corners of Yggdrasil's mouth turned up into a cat-like smile. "Yes, that's right. Hate me. Maybe when you're stronger- _if_ you become stronger- we can play a game called control. Until then, leave the power in the hands of _real men_." Parting words delivered, the leader of Cruxis vanished.

Lloyd remained glaring at the spot where Yggdrasil had been only seconds ago. "God _damn _it."

* * *

Since their departure, Kratos had taken over the position of _de facto_ leader of the World Regeneration Party: both Colette and Genis expressed a deep trust in his decision-making abilities. His first decision had been to stop for the night in Triet: everyone had had a long day of rapid emotional extremes and (at least for the 'kids') their first taste of actual battle, which had mostly consisted of Kratos mowing through monsters mechanically before their eyes, but for sheltered village kids, that was battle enough.

"The seal can wait for tomorrow," he told them at the inn. "It is best to proceed in a way that will allow us to finish the journey, rather than burn out halfway through."

They accepted his advice without complaining, both of them tottering off to their own room and leaving him in silence in his own.

Kratos tried to sit down as normally as possible on the bed, but ended up nearly falling onto it. What he needed was a shower or a bath and a change of clothes, considering that his current ensemble was sticking to him thanks to compounded layers of sweat and blood. He eased his shirt off, taking care to avoid the half-healed gash in his side, and tossed it unceremoniously somewhere to the side. Almost instantaneously there was feeling of undeniable freedom.

The seraph took stock: aside from the monstrosity on his side Forcystus had delivered hardly any damage; the fence he had crashed into had been a worse foe. Kratos ran a cautious hand down his shoulder blade and winced as fingers ran over half-opened scratches. He closed his eyes and cast First Aid, feeling the skin close up underneath. He exhaled slowly…oh gods, he wanted to sleep. He might be an angel now, but even angels had their limits, and he had been moving from battle to battle all day without any regard for himself. His head sunk lower and lower as his breathing slowed. He could fall asleep sitting up and still be perfectly happy.

"Is this some sort of bizarre night ritual for you?"

Kratos's eyes shot open as his head whipped around to face the person who had just entered through the lone window in the room.

"Pronyma." Someone had made a speedy report.

The Cardinal did not bother to acknowledge him in return. "I see I've caught Lord Aurion at an uncompromising time once again."

The seraph looked briefly down at his bare chest and then back at the Desian. "Assume what you like."

Pronyma moved further into the room. "You'll be happy to know that Lord Yggdrasil has taken a great interest in your recent actions."

_Is she content to ignore everything I say?_ "No doubt with your prodding."

"No, he decided of his own accord," Pronyma said, tossing her hair. "Essentially, he wishes you to know that he will not continue to tolerate such foolish behavior and that you and the Chosen must continue to make sufficient progress each day toward world regeneration."

"Imagine that," Kratos said wryly. "How exactly does he intend to enforce this? Ah- no, I see." He waved a hand at Pronyma. "He's made you my overseer. No wonder you came back so quickly."

"I'm glad to see that your wits are still about you."

"As they always are." Kratos sighed. "And here I was expecting Yggdrasil to understand that an older man than he does not require a guardian."

"You've hardly proven that." Pronyma frowned.

"And that matter doesn't concern you," Kratos snapped. "Now what else is new? Or did you come here simply to gloat?"

Pronyma looked affronted, but he knew it was mostly because he had seen straight through her. "I am just making sure that you are aware of your situation, Lord Aurion. Lord Yggdrasil has promised grave consequences if you compromise this journey in any other fashion."

"Tell me something I don't know," Kratos said. "You can leave."

"I'll be watching you," Pronyma warned.

"I understand," Kratos affirmed dully.

In one fluid movement the Cardinal had covered the distance between them, and Kratos didn't even have time to object before one finely-manicured hand planted itself firmly in his chest, pushing him down onto the bed.

"No," she breathed, hair falling into Kratos's face as she tried to loom over him, "I don't think you do."

"_Get out_," Kratos snarled, reaching up to shove her off.

The Cardinal caught him by the wrist and held fast. "Don't move, Lord Aurion, unless you want your sword hand ruined."

It was an uncompromising situation, and Kratos cursed himself for letting his guard down far enough for Pronyma to get her way. "You _are_ here just to gloat," he observed, knowing full well that it was not the answer his captor was looking for.

She rewarded him by tightening her fingers, causing his wrist to crack ominously. "I want the seal of fire released by tomorrow night," she said, indifferent to the slight expression of pain that crossed his face.

"As you wish."

"Say it like you mean it. I don't think you understand the magnitude of this task."

Kratos frowned. "Pronyma, I think you will find that I am one of those rare people who hold to their word. I promised Yggdrasil I would ensure the Chosen's success; you hardly need force me to carry out my own intentions."

Pronyma merely sniffed and released his wrist. "We'll see how truthful you are, Lord Aurion. You may have sworn your loyalty once over, but you have yet to prove your integrity."

Kratos eased himself into a sitting position. "And they do say that deeds speak louder than words. Wait until tomorrow and judge for yourself."

The Cardinal brushed herself off, picked up his shirt, and threw it at him. "Make yourself decent," she spat in farewell before exiting the way she had entered.

"…tch." Kratos sat there for a few more seconds before flopping back fully onto the bed, shirt forgotten as it slid to the floor. Within a few seconds he was out like a light.

* * *

Yggdrasil's expression was growing darker and darker with each word that Cardinal Rodyle spoke.

"The Renegades are utterly impeding progress," the Cardinal said in a long-suffering voice. "Inhibitor ore shipments are constantly going missing thanks to their influence; I fear that soon Tethe'alla will completely fall under their sway. They have the King's ear, I hear."

"How?" Yggdrasil growled.

"Word has it that they have some wealthy benefactor- one who could even supersede the power of the Church itself."

The blond half-elf grimaced. "Madness…how can Yuan assure me that 'things are running smoothly' in Tethe'alla?"

"Sir, this will sound completely heretical, and you must forgive me; I hope I do not presume too much—"

"If it's important, out with it!" Yggdrasil yelled. There was a terrible feeling in his gut that this was something _accurate_.

"—perhaps it is Lord Yuan himself who is the leader of the Renegades?"

Yggdrasil froze. "Yuan…the leader of the Renegades?"

"If you must know," Rodyle continued, "I see him often in Meltokio. I presumed he was there for higher business than I, but one never knows…"

"That _bastard_." Yggdrasil slammed a fist down on the chair, causing it to crack.

"It is only a hypothesis, my lord."

"No, this fits perfectly. Everything…all his idiotic requests…telling me everything is going fine…Renegades in Iselia…bastard!" Yggdrasil was shaking and clearly hyper-ventilating. "He played me for a fool!"

Rodyle, in his infinite wisdom, sensed that this was an appropriate time to exit. "That is all, my lord," he said quickly, the hologram disappearing in a flash.

Yggdrasil seethed. Bad news, bad news everywhere and not one drop of mercy to go with it. He had always suspected Yuan of foul play, and even now he could not deal with him because there was no concrete evidence. His sister's fiancé was not without intelligence- this, Yggdrasil would give him- and therefore perfectly capable of wiggling his way out of this entire affair.

No, Yggdrasil would need to catch his fellow seraph in the act, and to do that he would need to keep Yuan nearby. "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer," it was said.

A shaking finger pressed a button on the desk in front of him.

"Yes, Lord Yggdrasil?" The voice of some lesser angel filtered through the speaker.

"Inform Lord Yuan that I wish him to stay indefinitely in Derris Kharlan until I have further orders for him. I am taking control of the Tethe'alla situation myself; Lord Yuan is not to leave without my permission. _There will be no objections_. Understood?"

"It will be done," the voice intoned before the crackle of the speaker was cut off and Yggdrasil was left, as always, alone.

* * *

A tired Kratos does not a polite Kratos make.

Also, Shirtless!Kratos was not inserted for shameless fan service. Not at all.

AND I SWEAR I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT RAINE. Great things will be coming from her later, yup.

One final note: yours truly is departing on a school trip to France next Tuesday and thus will be prevented from posting the next chapter on time. Just to give you all a heads up!


	8. One Down, Three to Go

Genis and Colette arrived downstairs in the inn lobby to find Kratos waiting for them, looking impossibly immaculate. They blinked (hadn't that shirt been a mess last night?) and then wisely decided not to take any notice of his sterling appearance. There was something more pressing on their minds: food.

"What's for breakfast?" Genis asked first thing.

"If you so desire, you two can look around the market for a bit to find something to eat." The mercenary tossed the half-elf a small bag of money before adding, "Keep in mind that we need to leave soon. I don't want to travel when the sun's fully up."

"What about you?" Colette asked.

"I've already eaten," Kratos said shortly. "I've been up for quite some time now." He added another tick mark to the running mental tally he was keeping of the number of lies he was being forced to tell. The truth was that his body being what it was, food wasn't required on a daily basis; he'd bypassed his hunger in exchange for the opportunity to clean up properly. Appearance was taking priority strangely enough over health.

"Oh, okay. Come on then, Genis!"

"Wait, but—oh, alright." Genis didn't protest as Colette took his hand lightly in hers and sauntered off toward the marketplace, leaving their escort as usual to his own thoughts and devices.

Kratos didn't realize until much later that he had a slight smile on his face. It was hardly embarrassing, but it was a sign that maybe he was already becoming attached to their little group. Paternal instincts no doubt were responsible, but he could hardly deny them: once a parent, always a parent.

* * *

The heat of Triet was scorching, but the slight breeze swirling through the town and the morning weather alleviated it somewhat. The town was still waking up itself: shopkeepers were only beginning to open their shops, peddlers putting out the first of the day's wares. The town still lacked the level of hustle and bustle that carried on at midday, but already the air was filled with the lyrical timbre of the people of Triet.

Genis and Colette ducked and wove through the ever-growing throng of people turning out to begin their daily errands, searching for something delectable. Ten minutes later found them sitting on a fence near the oasis with legs dangling and fruit (imported!) and bread in hand.

"I've never been outside Iselia," Colette gushed. "It's so exciting to think that we'll get to see so much of the world!" She munched happily on an apple.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, although…you can't really call this a field trip," Genis pointed out.

"It's all how you look at things," Colette replied. "I mean, don't you think it's best to stay positive about this whole experience?"

"Of course, but that doesn't mean we should forget to look at things realistically," Genis said.

For a split second Colette's face fell. "I know what you mean," she said in an odd voice.

Genis blinked. "What?"

"It's nothing," the blond said cheerily.

The half-elf wasn't convinced at all, but it didn't look like his friend wanted to talk much on the subject, and he didn't want to dig beyond her comfort level. Everyone in Iselia was raised with this notion that Colette was someone to be cautious around- in a friendly way, minded. One could be her confidant and friend, but there had to be a certain level of courtesy and respect between the two that was deemed appropriate for one chosen by the angels. This included refraining from asking about thoughts that probably concerned higher matters too important for the average person. Of course, Genis hardly considered himself "average", but traditions were traditions.

"Alright," Genis said, turning back to his breakfast.

There were a few seconds of quiet, but their youth meant that "eating in relative silence" was a foreign concept. Talk soon turned to another pressing topic:

"What do you think of Kratos?" Genis asked suddenly. "Like, what's your impression of him?"

"Mr. Aurion? Well…" Colette tapped a finger on her chin in contemplation. "He's very serious," she concluded. "And he doesn't really care about himself, I think."

"What? What makes you think that?" Genis leaned in, interested in this recent development.

"Well, when he came to our house after the big fight with the Desians last morning, he was pretty hurt," Colette said. "And I asked him if he was alright, and he just said that being alive was alright for him." She shook her head. "He was bleeding so badly too! Maybe he was trying to be brave for me…"

"I don't think he has any trouble doing that," Genis said wryly. "Anyone who can take on the Desians is brave enough."

"I know, but…still."

"I think it's more just that he's a little like you," Genis said.

"What?" Colette turned to face him with surprise written all over her face.

"You both tend to think more of the people around you," Genis explained with a short laugh.

"Well, the Goddess does say that we need to be compassionate towards others…"

"I know! And that's what makes you two so weird! Most hu—_people_ are really self-centered," the half-elf said, catching himself just in time. "It's really rare to find a person who actually cares about other people more than they do themselves."

"Oh! Thank you!"

"Still," Genis said, looking thoughtfully into the distance, "I wonder why he's like that. Mercenaries are usually only driven by money."

"They are?" Colette blinked.

"Well, yeah. That's what mercenaries are: hired fighters. They'll do anything for money- at least, that's what Raine told me."

"But Mr. Aurion doesn't seem that way," Colette said with a frown.

"I know. He's _really_ weird," Genis replied. "He seems like a knight out of some fairy tale instead of your run-of-the-mill mercenary." After a moment he added, "I bet he's hiding something."

"Lots of people hide things."

"I bet he's hiding something really big."

"Well, it's not much of our business, Genis…"

"Come on, don't tell me you're not interested in knowing!"

"I just don't think it's very polite."

"I guess. It's just that—whoa!" The object of their conversation had suddenly appeared beside them, causing Genis to nearly topple backwards over the fence.

Kratos had heard almost every word that had been said as he listened from afar but acted as if he had just walked in incidentally. "Are you ready to go?" he asked mildly.

The appearance of the mercenary reminded the pair that time was ticking, and they hastily crammed the rest of their breakfast into their mouths and hopped down from the fence with equally vigorous nods.

"Good. Let's be going."

* * *

If Triet and its surrounding desert wasteland were considered hot, it paled in comparison to the interior of the Seal of Fire. Not more than five minutes had passed inside the arid temple before both Genis and Colette were sweating bullets- and wondering how Kratos managed to remain inhumanly unaffected. They were proceeding through the seal at a monstrously fast rate, rushing to the point where both youngsters were almost begging their escort to slow down.

"This is crazy," Genis panted as he tried to catch his breath in between casting spells- monsters as usual were plentiful- and lighting the next available torch with the Sorcerer's Ring. "Why would anyone in their right mind build a temple over a _lava pit_?"

"It's very pretty, actually," Colette said, keeping with her usual optimistic tone. "The colors are so bright!" Despite her cheer, however, she was also visibly tiring.

"We're going to burn to death, and all you can think of is how pretty the lava looks?" Genis asked, staring at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Well I don't see anything else…"

"Hold on," Kratos said, "we're almost to the seal." If one listened closely enough, he could tell that the man was peeved.

Genis swiped a hand across his forehead. "Thank _Martel_," he moaned. "This is dreadful."

In response Kratos only pointed toward an alcove with one gloved finger- Genis's signal to use the ring. The half-elf lined up his shot and fired, lighting the flame and causing another section of staircase to lurch up from the fiery depths to complete their path.

"That's it?" Colette asked as they crossed this newest section. She was referring to the glowing panel spinning dramatically before them. "That's the portal?"

"Yes. It will take us directly to where we need to be."

The rustle of wings behind him caused Kratos to spin around quickly, sword already halfway out of its sheath, but the motion was unnecessary; Genis, instincts sharpened by the constant fear and danger, had nailed the intruding flaming bird with a blast from the Sorcerer's Ring, causing their would-be attacker to plummet into the lava below with a surprised squawk.

"Nicely done," the mercenary said, and Genis could sense his approval, faint though it was.

"It was nothing, really." Still, the half-elf grinned broadly as he strode past Kratos and into the flashing portal.

Such blatant confidence elicited a raised eyebrow. "So it is." Kratos followed suit.

The seal room itself was much cooler than the maze of traps surrounding it, probably the builders' congratulations for surviving thus far. Genis and Colette gaped at the vastness of the place, eyes roving from one corner of the room to the other. Kratos, for his part, stood patiently aside, waiting for their awe to pass.

"And there it is!" Genis exclaimed, pointing toward the platform gracing the center of the room. "That's got to be the seal!" He glanced toward his friend, excitement barely contained. "You can do it, Colette!"

"Right!" Colette stepped forward but stopped dead when the entire room shuddered. "Uh…did I do something wrong?"

Genis's first instinct had been to hide behind the nearest pillar, but his shock overwhelmed his fear. "Mana!" he screeched. "It's building up!"

Kratos sighed. "Lovely," he muttered.

The tremor stopped as a pillar of lava exploded from the center of the seal, pouring down onto the floor in front of it like some hellish tsunami. It gathered itself up, compounding layer upon layer of molten rock, shining brightly as it swirled together to form:

"Monsters!" Colette gasped, stumbling backwards. Her chakrams were immediately in hand, although she was shaking. "What's going on?"

Kratos strode forward without any perception of fear as he drew his sword. "It's a test," he said calmly. "The Chosen must prove herself worthy of divinity."

The Ktugach, still gleaming from its recent creation, shook itself off, sending sparks flying everywhere. It glanced about the room before settling on its apparent meal of choice. Glowing eyes centered on the man advancing on it. Its jaw opened as it emitted a horrendous screech.

Both Colette and Genis flinched, but Kratos merely blinked. "Treat this as you would any other battle," he said as two smaller fire creatures also strode out. "I will ensure your safety."

_And he's standing right in front of it!_ Genis thought furiously. It wasn't fair. Some people were blessed with courage, and sadly he wasn't one of them. His legs were shaking as he stared at the immense creature in front of him. _This is terrible!_

"It'll be alright," Colette said suddenly to his right as if she had read his mind. "Let's do this, Genis!"

Kratos was already a blur of movement, his sword matching the monsters' flame at every move. It was similar to the previous day, when he had defended them the entire time, but now Genis realized that today he was able to stand on his own two feet; he'd help too.

"R-right!" he said, trying to keep the quaver out of his voice. "Let's do this!" He sank himself into a casting trance to the rhythm of the kendama. "Aqua Edge!" The watery orbs materialized and directed themselves toward one of the smaller creatures, stunning it- its attention had been on the annoyance (Kratos) buzzing around it- and allowing Colette to slip in and send a well-aimed chakram spinning toward its head.

The Ktugachling effectively distracted by chakram and spell, Kratos took his opportunity to rush in as well and slice through the monster's neck, effectively beheading it. He smiled in grim satisfaction, only to hastily retreat backwards as the Ktugachling, now dispatched, tumbled forward and exploded into a rain of fire.

"Cho- Colette!" The mercenary looked around frantically to confirm his charge's safety and found her already heading off determinedly toward the next target. Dodging a hail of needles from the Ktugach, Kratos darted over to assist her.

The second Ktugachling fell in a similar manner to its fellow, leaving only one final enemy to be dealt with. Genis and Colette hovered in the background as Kratos circled the Ktugach slowly, dodging now and then as the monster launched a fire spell. The monster, realizing its situation, howled as it fired off some more spikes. Kratos blocked them, giving Genis time to cast Aqua Edge for the umpteenth time as Colette tried to use every technique in her arsenal without tripping.

Unfortunately, size in this case meant strength, and the monster shook off both assaults as if they were nothing. It flared brightly before launching a counter attack: Eruption.

"Eek!" Colette was thrown backwards from the force of the spell, clothing smoking from the heat. She landed crumpled in a heap not too far away- and out of Kratos's reach. The fiery beast sensed its opening; turning to the incapacitated Chosen, it prepared to eliminate her permanently with its spikes.

"Damn!" Kratos was already speeding to assist her, ready to sacrifice himself if need be, but it was too late; he wouldn't be able to get there in time unless he revealed himself—

"No!" Genis had been casting once more, but upon seeing Colette in danger, had thrown himself into a kind of frenzy. Gathering as much mana as he possibly could, the young mage aimed his kendama towards his now mortal enemy and directed it all the Ktugach's way. For a breathtaking second he found himself gripped in panic when nothing happened, only to gape in amazement as a huge column of water erupted beneath the Ktugach, engulfing it completely and tossing it far from its intended target.

Kratos wasted no time in dispatching the weakened guardian, whose flames were already in danger of going out from the onslaught of water. He stood, breathing heavily, over the hulking mass of charred rock that had been their enemy for a split second before turning back to Genis and Colette. Predictably, the mage had already rushed over to his friend.

"Colette!" The Chosen managed to sit up, looking dazed as she tried to focus on the blurry image of her friend.

"Genis? What happened? Did we beat it?"

"We did! Well, really _I _did, but I mean…are you alright?" And now he was on the ground beside her, looking worriedly over her.

Colette smiled. "I'm okay! Just a little burnt, but that's alright." She glanced in Kratos's direction. "I'll live." She rubbed her arm absent-mindedly: a shiny burn made itself known near her elbow.

"That's good to hear!" Genis helped her up, and the Chosen dusted herself off carefully before attending to the matter of the seal. A shining orb was already descending from the heavens; a flash of light, and Remiel appeared.

"Well done, Chosen of Sylvarant," he said, eyes following Colette as she slowly made her way to stand directly before the seal. "You have proved your mettle thus far. Now…release the seal!"

"Yes…" Colette clasped her hands together and closed her eyes in silent prayer. Mana swirled around her, and suddenly the entire room grew warmer as a dormant Spirit awoke.

"What is she…?" Genis stepped forward but found himself blocked by Kratos.

"She is releasing the seal. Don't bother her."

"What—oh." Genis backed away in understanding.

"We of Cruxis accept your prayer," Remiel said with a smile, "and bless you with the Goddess's power."

"And so it begins," Kratos murmured too softly for Genis to hear.

Colette's Cruxis Crystal flared brightly as mana coalesced on her back, building brilliant pink wings that flapped tentatively as they were released for the first time. The girl gasped as they lifted her gently into the air. "I'm…" She looked skyward. "Father!"

Remiel's impassive smile did not budge an inch. "There are still tests to be faced in the near future, but you will overcome them. We will meet again soon, my daughter. Journey to the east; the next seal is far across the ocean in distant continents. Until then…" He vanished, ethereal feathers marking his sky-bound trail.

Colette slowly came back to earth. For a moment the formalness of world regeneration was sustained, but then she spun around, and the atmosphere was broken. "Wow! Look at me!"

Genis bounded forward. "They're so cool!" He jumped up and down. "Raine's going to be so jealous when I tell her about _this_!"

"Hee, hee, I think they're really pretty!" Colette flapped her newest appendages for her friend's amusement.

Kratos smiled faintly; the sight was comical. Still, they had places to be. "You will have time to look at her wings later," he said. "We should be leaving."

The two of them turned away from their playing.

"Oh…of course," Colette said as her wings vanished instantaneously. "Let's go."

They had barely made it outside the temple when she collapsed suddenly into the sand.

"Colette, what's wrong?" As usual, Genis rushed to her aid. It couldn't have been an injury; Kratos had patched them all up shortly after leaving the seal room.

"N-nothing," the Chosen assured him, smiling. "I just got a little light-headed; that's all." When Genis's expression did not change, she added, "I'm fine, really!"

The half-elf turned to Kratos. "Do you think she needs to see a doctor?"

Kratos shook his head. "The angel warned us of future tests; perhaps this is one of them." He looked down at Colette. "Perhaps we should rest here instead. After all, you don't feel otherwise out of sorts, do you?"

"No, not at all," Colette answered.

Genis, on the other hand, was suspicious. "How do you know that? How do you know this is a test?"

The mercenary frowned. "Gaining wings, becoming an angel…things such as those don't happen with ease. No doubt the transformation is also another trial for the Chosen to overcome."

Genis saw the logic in this. "I guess…if it's okay with you, Colette."

Colette nodded. "I think it's like Kratos says," she said.

But even so, Kratos could still sense the edge of fear in her voice. _She knows what has started._

Pronyma did not appear that evening as they sat around the campfire, but Kratos could feel her eyes on him throughout the night, watching and making note of everything he did. He had completed what she wanted; she surely understood now that he did not take his words lightly.

The next morning they turned their sights east.

* * *

"I don't understand," Yuan said as he strove to control his emotions. "What evidence do you have other than the word of Cardinal Rodyle to convict me of treason?"

"Everything," Yggdrasil hissed. "You are trying to get in my way, Yuan; I will not allow that. I have known, oh yes; do not think for a minute that I cannot see your betrayal clearly."

"You are mad," Yuan said shortly. "You are mad, and you are making a terrible mistake."

"Prove it," Yggdrasil retorted. "Get down on your knees; pledge your loyalty."

"I am not your _pet_, to be bound like that," Yuan spat. "Yes, you are the leader of Cruxis, and I acknowledge that, but we are still equals, comrades, even as we were during the war."

"Kratos is—"

Yuan's eyes shone with anger. "I am hardly Kratos Aurion. _Kratos_ may be willing to be your servant; _Kratos_ may be willing to let you push him around, but as for me, I remember how things used to be and how they should be." It was a double-edged statement, and he had fully intended it to be.

"See your disloyalty emerging before your eyes," Yggdrasil said, quickly taking the offensive. "It is your pride that betrays your intentions. I know I am in the right in this matter; admit your guilt now, Yuan, and perhaps I will be merciful."

_He is trying to trap me, but I will not let him._ "Continue to delude yourself," Yuan replied angrily. "We're not getting anywhere. I'm leaving." And before Yggdrasil could order him to stay he had stormed out and down the hallway toward his quarters as fast as he could.

_No, it's not Yggdrasil who's going mad…it's me._ Confinement was slowly killing him: Yuan was by nature a man of action, and being locked away on Derris Kharlan without any permissible contact to the outside world was the exact opposite of what he needed. He had reached his breaking point; it was now or never that he would act. But what to do? What could be the catalyst for his counter-revolution?

A possibility dawned on him as he passed by a certain boy's room. Yuan stopped and slowly walked backwards until he was looking directly at the door to Lloyd's quarters. He stood there, heart beating loudly in his chest and eyes wide, his mind already whirling.

There was still one person Yuan held some sway over, and what his mind was now telling him to do would still coincide perfectly with his plans. Yggdrasil might have refused to do the dirty work for him, but he had never been beneath acting on his own. He would take control of the boy's fate.

Lloyd Aurion would leave Derris Kharlan and hopefully in the same stroke, so would Kratos Aurion's heart. It would send Yggdrasil into a terrible rage; It was foolish; it was _outrageous_, but causing chaos was the only method he had available to him. And he would take the plunge.

All he had to do was take some time to arrange things…

* * *

Another Lloyd-less chapter, but I have my reasons! Chapter 9 is going to be _all Lloyd _due to intense plot shenanigans. So no pitchforks yet, please!

And as you can tell, I tried to include more Genis and Colette. They make a great duo, really. (Genis/Colette…hmm…)

And for those of you who are interested in RL business, my trip to France was amazing. Severe jet lag and a sudden burst of school work kept me from posting on time, though, but here it is!


	9. Lloyd Makes His Entrance

A week or so passed.

"Lord Aurion is progressing along with my orders; we still have a ways to go, but we are on schedule, my lord," Pronyma said emotionlessly. "The Chosen is approaching the second seal with each passing day."

Yggdrasil nodded. "Good, good…everything is going smoothly. I should have expected nothing less of him. Has he been at all hostile since our little incident?"

The Cardinal shook her head. "Nary a word from him. We have tamed him, I think."

"Wonderful. Keep up the good work, Pronyma. You are dismissed."

"By your leave," Pronyma said before she vanished from the holo-screen.

Yggdrasil sighed and relaxed into his chair. Things were going excellently now; it seemed that the chaos of the previous week was only momentary. Everything was under control. Everything was working—

A flashing red light tore him from his relaxed state.

"What." Yggdrasil stared disbelievingly at it. A security breach…unauthorized portal usage…who…?

_The boy_.

He dashed out of his office, only one thing on his mind. This time, the boy had crossed the line. Family of an old friend or not, he would not escape this so easily.

* * *

Nothing had changed; Lloyd still hated the slow grind of life. He was missing his father increasingly by the minute. Snatches of conversation between angels that he was able to pick up told him that the Chosen's group had successfully released a seal a few days before and was on its way to releasing another one. There had apparently been some minor troubles with an assassin from Tethe'alla, but "Lord Aurion dealt with the situation effectively".

Kratos was far off, doing who knew what, but knowing (broadly) where his father was gave Lloyd a sense of connection that he clung to, a small comfort.

There were troubles at home, though; tensions in Derris Kharlan were escalating. Affronted by his sudden confinement, Yuan had grown increasingly volatile; often as Lloyd walked through the halls he could hear the seraph and Yggdrasil engaged in yet another heated argument over some matter- namely Yuan's distinct lack of freedom of movement. It would only be a matter of time before someone completely snapped.

He happened to pass by the portal corridor when suddenly a voice called his name: "Lloyd, come in here." Lloyd backpedaled and peered through the open door. Inside, next to gleaming rows of portals, was Yuan with his cloak off and swallow blade leaning casually on the wall beside him- and another.

"Noishe!" Lloyd exclaimed as the protozoan yelped and rushed to greet him. He tore himself away from his pet's slobbery welcome long enough to ask, "What's going on? Why'd you need me?"

Yuan smiled, and there was something in his expression that Lloyd could see was dangerous. "I'm taking things into my own hands."

"…what?" Lloyd stepped back, still petting Noishe. "What do you mean?"

"If you haven't noticed, Yggdrasil and I have been disagreeing on things," the blue-haired half-elf said with a sigh. "The matter is about to boil over; I thought I'd get you out of the war zone before it began."

Lloyd couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wait…so…what are you doing?"

"You're leaving. That's why I brought Noishe down here. You can leave through one of these portals." He motioned to the row behind him.

There was only one "certified" exit out of Derris Kharlan- the main portal in Welgaia- and one emergency exit. However, there were a series of other portals that led directly to the seal rooms in the two worlds to give Cruxis's representative easy access to the Chosen. These were restricted; they weren't even listed in the building plans. Lloyd had only known about them because of his exploring ways; he could only guess that Yuan knew of their existence from the very beginning.

"But isn't that going to piss Yggdrasil off?" Lloyd asked, dumbfounded. There were other questions crowding his head too, like _Why didn't you just do this to begin with? _or _How come you didn't warn me? _or _Wait, what?_ But at the time he could only think about how much trouble this was going to cause, if he had even heard Yuan correctly.

"That's the point."

"_What_?" Lloyd stared. "You're going to get yourself killed! And me! What about _my_ life?"

"I'm giving it to you," Yuan said simply. "I'm getting tired of this stalemate. It's about time someone took action."

"This isn't like you," Lloyd said. "You're acting way too rashly."

"It's the only way things are going to get done. Now go. That one" – he pointed to the nearest portal – "leads to the safest location."

"I don't get this at all. Why are you doing this now? Why couldn't I have left a week ago? And why can't I just leave through the emergency exit or something—?"

"I already explained that; I hadn't thought of it; because it will attract too much attention. Besides, this way they'll have a harder time tracking you down. Now _go_."

"Yuan, I don't think I should be doing these kinds of things—whoa!" Lloyd stumbled forward as Yuan, tired of his inaction, shoved him hard from behind, sending him flying into the portal. "Wait! I never said I—!" His last words were cut off as he faded from sight.

Yuan nodded grimly. "There we go." He turned to Noishe. "Look after him." The protozoan whined before following his master into the portal.

Yuan smiled as Noishe disappeared before counting the seconds in his head to Yggdrasil's arrival. By now, with the portal activated, the seraph would have noticed from his office. Surely he was coming. _One…two…three…_

His mind rewound to the jumbled string of thoughts that had led him to his current thread of action. Before he would have never dared to defy Yggdrasil outright, but he'd been backed into a corner; it was high time he bullied his way out.

_Twelve…thirteen…fourteen…_

Yggdrasil walked in, every inch shaking with uncontrollable fury.

"Good afternoon," Yuan said pleasantly.

Cold eyes turned slowly to fix on him. "Yuan," Yggdrasil said slowly, trying to keep his voice even, "what have you done?"

"Something I ought to have done long ago," Yuan replied. "He's long gone, you know."

Yggdrasil looked from the portals to Yuan. "I should have _killed_ you long ago," he said. "But I see a good opportunity to do so now."

Yuan quickly took up his swallow blade. "As if I'd let you try without a fight."

Yggdrasil quirked a brow. "Huh."

"I know you."

"It's good to know you have some intelligence." Mana swirled at Yggdrasil's fingertips, ready to be shaped at his biding. "But in the end you're a fool, and I have no need for fools.

"Consider yourself...what is the word? Ah- _excommunicated_."

* * *

Lloyd had only traveled once by portal, and that was when he was young and unable to remember the sensation of it. As he struggled against the vortex he realized it was probably for the best that he hadn't remembered it. The portal sucked him away; his hands grasped vainly for some hold on a surface that wasn't there. Lights danced before his eyes, and suddenly he materialized in some unknown place.

"What the…" For a split second, Lloyd hovered in the air, managing to catch a glimpse of towering windows and archaic pillars before he looked down and realized that there was no solid ground beneath him, "Oh _shit_!" He plummeted down like a rock and crashed onto the stone floor.

"Ouch…" Lloyd sat up, rubbing his head. "Where the hell did Yuan drop me?" He stood up. "What…?"

He was standing in the center of a large circular platform, a dais of sorts. Looking up, Lloyd could see a large circular opening at the top of a huge dome- where he had entered, he figured. What amazed him most, however, was the shine of blue that caught his eye.

"It's the sky!" he exclaimed, running a hand loosely through his hair as he simply stood there in pure astonishment. "It's really the sky…"

Said awe quickly turned to shock as a moment later Noishe appeared directly on top of him.

"No, Noishe, don't look—ack!" Lloyd rolled away to avoid the oncoming collision, but oddly enough, the protozoan gently floated down to the surface, landing softly on the dais next to Lloyd and looking incredibly pleased with itself.

"Oh, that's not fair at _all_," Lloyd said, glaring at his pet. "I bet you picked that up from Dad, didn't you?"

Noishe whined and licked the boy's face.

Lloyd rubbed his face off furiously on his sleeve. "Yeah, yeah, you're not making things any better with that." He sighed, shoulders slumping forward. "What a mess this is…everyone's going to be so mad at me."

Without warning, Noishe shoved Lloyd gently toward the spinning portal near the dais.

"What? What are you doing? I'm trying to—oh, I see." Lloyd glanced up nervously toward the opening in the ceiling. "You think we should leave before anyone else shows up."

He paused for a moment, daring himself to actually step off of the platform and towards uncertainly. With these steps he would be sealing a death warrant if Yggdrasil ever got a hold of him, but on the other hand, this was his chance. He had been dreaming of this day for years, and even though it had come unconventionally, it still had dropped into his lap. Who was he to deny what he saw as destiny?

Lloyd's eyes hardened and his mouth drew to a thin line. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Let's get out of here."

Together, the two made their swift escape.

* * *

Raine shaded her eyes as she looked in the direction of the nearby temple of Martel. "What on earth…what was that light?" she mused. The oracle had been a week ago; the Chosen had departed; why would there be any supernatural activity at the temple now?

One of her students ran up to her anxiously. "What's wrong, Miss Raine?"

The professor looked down and smiled warmly. "Nothing, Herbert. I was just marveling how clear the sky is today." She pointed toward a few wisps of cloud in the sky. "There are a few cirrus formations, though."

Herbert mimicked his teacher in pointing. "And a few cu…cumula…cumulus!" he finished proudly.

Raine beamed. "Yes, exactly. Now why don't you go on home? We're all done for today."

The young boy nodded, said his polite goodbyes, and sprinted off down into the village proper.

Raine smiled faintly before turning and making her way toward the temple. Something strange was going on, and as a woman of science, it was her duty to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

Yuan managed to stop himself mid-slice and stumble back just in time as Yggdrasil slammed a fist downward, sending a shockwave of mana shooting out around him. Before the mana had completely dissipated he was already running forward. Flipping nimbly into the air, Yuan thrust his swallow blade into the ground, creating a field of lightning around him, electricity shooting up into the air to hopefully catch his fellow seraph unawares. However, Yggdrasil had jumped back, narrowly avoiding the deadly currents.

That particular skirmish finished, the two combatants resumed circling the room, near-identical glares aimed at the other.

_He must be getting tired by now; our levels are nearly the same._ Yuan took the opportunity to analyze the situation. The two seraphs had proven remarkably well-matched; each blow was matched by another of equal pain. Still, there was the nagging sensation that Yggdrasil was holding back, and that things were about to get worse. He reached up to wipe away the blood and sweat falling into his eyes and to sweep his bangs out of his face.

"This is getting annoying," Yggdrasil said. He gestured and mana rose up to twist into the form of a sword. The Hero of the Kharlan War took his chosen weapon in hand and aimed it at his foe.

"Let's end this." A terrible smile of victory was on Yggdrasil's face.

Yuan gritted his teeth: Yggdrasil had pulled out his trump card. Not only had the brat been Kratos's protégé, but the Eternal Sword also granted him the power to accomplish anything he wished. Yuan had suddenly become the underdog.

Yggdrasil raised the Eternal Sword, and light streamed forth from its blade, momentarily blinding Yuan. When the light had faded, Yggdrasil was nowhere to be seen.

"Tch!" Yuan spun around just in time to barely parry Yggdrasil from behind. The blond laughed as he bullied his fellow half-elf back, leaving no room for a counterattack as he launched into a relentless barrage of blows with all the cold, calculated precision of his teacher. Yuan had to draw on all his previous knowledge of sparring with Kratos to defend himself, and even then the sharp edge tore through his arm, his torso, his cheek…

But he had not been Sylvarant's knight for nothing, and with his life and others' on the line, he could not afford to lose. Yuan shifted his grip on the swallow blade, spinning it one-handed to deflect the Eternal Sword while lightning gathered in his free hand. With a ferocious yell he launched it at Yggdrasil, but the seraph was ready. With a swipe of his sword the magic vanished, banished to another dimension. This, however, was all the distraction Yuan needed.

Yggdrasil's eyes widened as the swallow blade made for his neck. He had swung too wide out of bravado; his guard was down! "No!"

Twisting suddenly, Yuan changed the direction of the blade to slice diagonally across Yggdrasil's chest, bringing a screech of pain from his opponent.

Yggdrasil stumbled back, one hand clutching his chest. "You…you hit me," he said numbly.

Yuan cleared his throat. "You deserved that one," he said quietly. "I hope it wakes you up, old friend." He grudgingly admitted that Kratos was right _as usual_: overconfidence bred carelessness. Thank goodness Mithos had never taken that particular piece of advice to heart.

"Silence!" Yggdrasil screamed. "You don't know _anything_!" The Eternal Sword flashed, and suddenly Yuan doubled over, wheezing as some invisible force collided with his gut. He coughed, leaning on his swallow blade for support.

Yggdrasil straightened up and wiped the blood from his lips. "I will make you pay for this dearly."

"You already have," Yuan retorted. "Four thousand years of repayment." His eyes flashed angrily. "You forced me into this idiotic plan of yours; you used my grief; you used _Martel_!"

"_Shut up_!" Yggdrasil made to punish his opponent for his words, but was beset by a coughing fit. Blood splattered the ground.

Yuan edged sideways. "This is it, Mithos. I'm done. I'm done with your Age of Lifeless Beings. I've been done with it ever since you ever proposed it. Wake up, you twit, before you really turn your sister into a demon." He was taking short, desperate, rapid breaths; Yggdrasil's blow seemed to have crushed his breastplate into his chest.

"I hate you," Yggdrasil said. His hoarse voice built in a crescendo of raw emotion. "I hate you!"

"Fine then." Yuan smiled and stepped into the nearest portal. "This is _war_, Mithos Yggdrasil."

* * *

Lloyd didn't make it very far before someone caught up to him. Walking slowly along with Noishe, marveling at the strange vastness of the place he had found himself in, he barely heard Noishe's bark of warning before something hard collided with his head.

"Ouch!" The boy instinctively made to hide behind Noishe. "What the hell was that for?"

His attacker hefted a staff threateningly. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing here? You're not from the village!"

"I'm Lloyd!" he yelled in a panic, never mind that she didn't know who Lloyd was. "I'm not doing anything bad; I swear!"

"Impossible! Your dog seems perfectly alright!" It was true: Noishe was watching this all with a highly amused attitude.

"Noishe isn't a dog; he's a _protozoan_!"

Suddenly, the woman's demeanor shifted drastically. "Are…are you serious?" she asked excitedly. "A real protozoan?"

Lloyd made to answer, but she had already commenced a thorough inspection of his friend.

"Fascinating! I don't know why I didn't recognize it in the first place! Oh my...he's in the third stage? He must be over thousands of years old!" His attacker's eyes turned to him, glittering madly. "How ever did you come by him?"

"He's my dad's," Lloyd said hastily. "He's been with—he's been in the family for a long time." His better judgment told him it wasn't a good idea to mention his father's real age.

"Fascinating…" the woman said again.

Lloyd glared at Noishe, who was clearly enjoying all the attention. "Yeah, keep smirking, buddy," he muttered.

The woman bounded over to him, allowing Lloyd a glimpse at her pointed ears. _A half-elf?_

"I'm sorry for that previous little episode," she said in a breathless voice. "It's just that recently we've been having some…unsavory activity in this area; I can't always be sure…"

"That sucks," Lloyd said. "What happened?"

"Desians," the woman said grimly.

Lloyd blinked for a second, but then realized what she was talking about. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "That's terrible!"

Unfortunately, she caught his little pause. "Yes," she said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, it was." Suddenly her hand snaked around and grasped his wrist in a vise.

"W-what are you doing?"

"We're going to have a little chat. I want to know all about your protozoan friend and you!"

"You don't need to grab my wrist so hard!"

"Young men shouldn't be out wandering around in these times. It's quite dangerous."

"That doesn't have anything to do with…!"

"It'll be better if you explain this to me over a cup of tea, perhaps."

And thus Lloyd was dragged, protesting, back to the village of Iselia.

"I don't even know your _name_!"

* * *

Yuan stumbled out into the sunlight, thoroughly miserable. He'd fallen into a portal at random, and had had the misfortune of ending up in the Seal of Darkness; wandering around in the dark injured with monsters everywhere did _not_ make for a happy combination.

The first thing he did upon finding a good spot to hunker down was to unclasp his armor and throw it aside, causing him to gasp as air rushed back into his lungs. Pulling up his shirt gingerly to examine the damage, Yuan winced. "That's _terrible_." His chest was already turning into a mass of blue and black, thanks to a certain blond.

"Idiot doesn't know how to control himself," the half-elf grumbled as he fished around for his communication device. Now absent from Derris Kharlan, he was free to contact whoever he liked without surveillance, and he knew exactly who he was calling first.

"Sir, it's been a while!" Botta sounded remarkably happy to hear him.

"Botta," Yuan said, not bothering to keep the pain out of his voice. "I'm at the Seal of Darkness. Send a Rheaird or something. I want out of here, and I'm too damn tired to fly all the goddamn way to Flanoir."

"Sir, what's going on?"

"Yggdrasil and I got into a disagreement," Yuan said, laughing. It came out as some harsh, grating noise. "It's safe to say now that my split with Cruxis is complete."

"And what does that mean?"

"War, Botta. We needed to take action."

"Sir, are you sure this is wise? I'm not even sure our forces are ready…"

"Don't ask all these questions; you're giving me a headache," Yuan snapped, trying to ignore the drums beating on his skull. "You can grill me later once I get back to base, get patched up, and have a cup of coffee. Now get someone over here before I pass out."

"Sir!" Botta cut the connection, and Yuan leaned his head wearily back to rest on the stone wall behind him.

"And so it begins," he said. "And so it begins…"

He closed his eyes and let himself lapse into sleep.

* * *

The Sage residence was so homey in comparison to Derris Kharlan that for a second Lloyd couldn't believe he was actually sitting at a kitchen table waiting for a cup of tea. His attacker had also had the decency to finally introduce herself as one Raine Sage, school teacher and avid researcher.

"So you're from a place called Welgaia? I'm ashamed to say that I've never heard of it," Raine said lightly as she turned away from the teapot.

"Not too many have," said Lloyd.

"Where is it?"

"I'm not really sure myself…" Actually, he did know; he just didn't want to accidentally compromise the entire Church of Martel.

"That's…interesting." Raine sat down across from him and slid a cup over. Lloyd accepted it gratefully and blew on it to cool it down before taking a sip.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't get out much, so I don't really know too much about the surrounding area."

"Well, you're in Iselia," Raine said, adopting a lecturing tone. "And I found you in our local temple to Martel. What's curious is that a large plateau lies directly behind the temple; there isn't really room for a whole other city, if you follow me."

"Er…I suppose there isn't," Lloyd said. It was becoming clearer and clearer that he lacked his father's remarkable ability to lie through his teeth; Raine was digging too close for comfort. Still, he had learned something vital: this was Iselia, which was in Sylvarant, which meant that Kratos was somewhere- perhaps hundreds of miles away, but still much closer than before.

"So how did you find your way there?" his interrogator asked.

"Look." Lloyd ran a hand through his hair. "I should have said it straight out, but I can't tell you. You wouldn't believe me."

Raine raised an eyebrow. "Really. You, a seemingly normal human boy, appear at the temple of Martel shortly after an intense light on par with the Chosen's oracle emits from the place with a multi-thousand year-old protozoan, and you expect me to not believe you?"

Lloyd had to admit that she had a point. But secrets were secrets. "I can't tell you," he insisted.

Raine sighed. "I suppose it's no use in pushing you." She took a sip of her tea. "Would you mind if I asked you a different question?"

"I guess…"

"Why are you here?"

_Because someone pushed me into a portal._ But no, that wasn't a good reason at all; it was one that would certainly bring about more prying. Lloyd cast about for a reasonably vague excuse. "I'm…looking for someone," he said.

"And who would that be?"

And in an instant, the boy realized just how brilliant he could unconsciously be. "My father," Lloyd told her.

"Your father? That does make sense…"

Lloyd immediately summoned all the enthusiasm he could muster; he needed to be as convincing as possible. Thankfully, it wasn't a difficult task: he did want to find Kratos. "Have you seen him? He's a kind of tall, red-haired man with purple armor, acts really serious, has a sword…"

Raine started. "You're _his_ son?" she asked. The woman squinted, examining the young man in front of her. "There is a resemblance now that I think about it…"

"Kratos passed through here?" Lloyd asked, jumping to his feet in excitement. "Do you know where he went?"

"I'm sorry; I wouldn't know," Raine said somberly. "He's escorting the Chosen of Sylvarant. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the…"

"…journey for world regeneration's started. Yeah, I know," Lloyd said, cutting in.

Raine looked at him strangely. "News gets around," she said simply. "At any rate, he's long gone.

"My brother Genis went with them," she added a moment later, looking down at the table.

Lloyd was surprised by her behavior; if he were from Sylvarant, he would have been proud to see a family member have the honor of accompanying the Chosen. "Your brother? Oh…really? Is he a good fighter? Why'd he go along?"

The woman sighed heavily. "He made a terrible mistake, and now he thinks that he'll make things alright if he goes with the Chosen. I don't know what he's thinking; I suppose he feels some urge to become a hero."

Lloyd's interest was piqued. "Didn't you try to talk him out of it?"

"I did, but his heart seemed set on it. And people around here…they can be very harsh," Raine said. "I decided that it would be better for him to have some chance at redeeming himself, rather than force him to stay in such a hostile environment."

"I see." Lloyd himself had never done anything similar, but he knew how stifling it felt to be somewhere where you didn't fit in.

"I was thinking of looking for him- after all, he's only a boy- but my chances aren't very good traveling alone," Raine said mournfully as she drank some more of her tea.

Lloyd wasn't sure if this had been an intentional hint, but in the end he ran with it. "You know, Raine, they always say things are better when shared with company."

"Hm?" The woman looked up from her cup.

"Well, what I mean to say is that, you know, since I'm looking for my father, and you're looking for your brother, why not, you know…stick together? I think I'd feel a lot safer myself with a friend."

Raine's eyes lit up. "Exactly!" she said. "I couldn't have said it better myself!" She looked him over. "Of course, I think we are in need of some purchases before we even consider starting out."

"What?" Lloyd was confused.

"It won't do if you run around unarmed," Raine explained. "I trust you know how to use a weapon? After all, your father is a mercenary. Did he teach you?"

"What? Oh! Yeah, he did, although I'm nowhere as good as he is," Lloyd said. Still he looked very proud at the idea of being his father's student.

"Excellent. I feel more secure already," Raine said with a smile. She finished off her tea and stood up gracefully. "Shall we go see what the village has to offer?"

"Sure!"

* * *

Pronyma skidded into the portal room, gasping as she noticed the crumpled form of her liege lord on the ground. "Lord Yggdrasil!" she exclaimed, hurrying to his side. She turned to address the cadre of angels behind her. "We must get to the medical bay immediately!"

As a few angels began moving in to shift Yggdrasil onto a stretcher, the seraph moaned, and his eyes slowly opened. "Pronyma…"

"Sir!"

"Listen. Yuan…is behind this…find him," the seraph said hoarsely. "I want him…before me…a wreck."

"It will be done, my lord." Assurances given, Pronyma turned to leave, but found Yggdrasil clutching the hem of her cloak feverishly.

"Sir…?"

"One…more…thing…" Her lord's face was bloodless and strained. "The boy…Yuan's trick…find the boy…" Yggdrasil's grip slackened as the spurt of energy he had consumed ran out.

"You have my word," Pronyma said. With a curt bow she departed.

Honesty, however, was not Pronyma's policy: as much as she worshiped Yggdrasil, she was unwilling to spend so much effort finding one insignificant human boy, compared to the unimaginable glory awaiting her if she delivered a crushed and defeated Yuan into her lord's waiting hands. True, the son was Yggdrasil's guarantee of Kratos's loyalty, but really…how long could one pathetic, weak human boy last alone? The odds were against him, and she was not willing to gamble on losing odds. She would find Yuan first.

* * *

Raine watched curiously as the boy perused the rack of swords, clearly annoyed by the lack of any real sharp edges: all of the swords were wooden. She still didn't understand what it was about this Lloyd character that made her feel as if she could trust him. He seemed so charismatic, so confident…it was hard to believe that his father was a shadowy mercenary of unknown repute.

Still, Lloyd had his peculiarities, particularly concerning his origins: his surprising knowledge of the journey of world regeneration, his protozoan friend, his bizarre appearance…all were not characteristics of any young man from the area, let alone from Sylvarant. There was an otherworldly quality to him that Raine was determined to get to the bottom of; it was partly for that reason that she had so blithely hinted that he accompany her.

"Are you sure you don't have any _real_ swords?" the boy asked the storekeeper. "These won't do at all."

"Look, kid, if you want a sword so bad, go ask that dwarf out in the woods to make you one. If you're gonna complain about what I'm sellin', get outta here!"

The boy sighed and turned to Raine, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Er…is that alright, Raine? I mean, if it's too much trouble I guess we could wait and sweat it out a bit until we reach the next town _with a real weapon selection_," he said, glaring venomously at the man behind the counter.

"No, it's not a problem at all," Raine said. "It's better if we're prepared right from the beginning." She made for the door. "Come along; I'll take you to Dirk's."

* * *

Whew, what a behemoth chapter (kudos to you for even finishing it), although it was actually one of the more fun ones to write. In terms of where we are in the plot, I'd consider this the end of "Part I".

Anyway, I hope you liked all the Lloyd action in this chapter; hopefully it'll make up for the kind of lackluster scenes on Derris Kharlan. (Raine and Lloyd + Noishe traveling together: what fun!)


	10. EL: The Incident of Fourteen Years Ago

Okay, so you may be wondering, "What on earth is this? This isn't the next chapter!" Well, this is the author being lazy, but in a slightly productive way. Essentially, yours truly is currently devoting most of her time and brain power to exams right now and therefore has absolutely no time to edit/write/brainstorm. Seeing as I'm currently finished with "Part I", I thought it therefore alright to put in something "extra"- an appendix of sorts- before I move on. (You can expect more of these "extras" in the future, just warning you now.)

Basically, what you're about to read is a series of blurbs from various character viewpoints on what I call "The Incident of Fourteen Years Ago". This might be overdone, but whatever. I'm sure no one has ever bothered to really write _Rodyle_.

Also, because I am like that, these are in chronological order.

* * *

**EXTRA LOAD: The Incident of Fourteen Years Ago  
**

**

* * *

**

_-In the Cold-_

Cold there is something cold in my stomach oh my god it's his oh my god Kratos what did I oh no your face no I'm so sorry I didn't mean to no let me tell you let me tell you no don't look like that I want you to be happy you need to be happy no

_damn it_

I can't move there is a burning in my chest and oh god blood is everywhere this is me this is me dying oh god oh god no_ Lloyd_ I can't see you where are you my vision is blurring light is fading wet rain rain why am I looking at rain Kratos hurry up find him oh god I'm so sorry oh god Kratos please don't be angry I had to you had to there was nothing we could do

Footsteps oh my god it's him Kratos is that you I'm so sorry...

_-A Continuation of That Funny Dream Sequence Several Chapters Ago-_

"Leave him to me," Forcystus says. It is an order. His men know it. "I want to speak to him alone.

His men retreat into the distance. He hears their footsteps as they plod slowly backwards in the muddy earth, melting into the underbrush. He waits until they are all gone before speaking again.

"Why?"

The man in front of him remains silent, right hand still held unwavering in the air. The side of Aurion's face is to him, and the rain has caused his hair to stick to his cheek, blocking sight of his eyes.

The other hand is curled around a boy, whose brown hair Forcystus can just barely see poking out from Aurion's shoulder. The boy is sleeping.

"Lord Aurion."

"We are alone?" It is a long time before Aurion speaks. His voice is hoarse.

"We are."

Aurion's hand falls to the hilt of his sword. Forcystus raises his gun arm. The machine opens its maw wide. Energy crackles threateningly. "Don't try anything funny."

"You find this funny?"

Forcystus does not reply directly, but he props up his gun arm, preparing to fire.

"Leave, Forcystus. You can try, but you will not win."

"I have men."

"They can try as well."

He understands in a flash that Aurion is in the throes of desperation. The man did something awful to Kvar; Forcystus knows that if he pushes his luck, he might end in a similar fashion.

"You would risk your son," he observes.

Aurion's left hand tightens around the boy on his shoulder, and Forcystus knows that he has struck something.

"My men and I may die, but do not expect either one of you to come out of this affair unscathed."

There is no response from Aurion. He continues to stand there in the rain like a statue, one hand grasping the hilt of his sword, the other wrapped around his son.

"Do not throw his life away for freedom."

"It is for him that I fight. My life means nothing at all."

"But then what sort of life do you submit him to? A boy will not survive in this reality by himself." _I am getting soft._ Humans are trash, and yet he pities this man, who dares to stand in the rain as still as death. That is why he talks with his mouth instead of his gun this time.

The clouds pass and sunlight barely begins to shine into the clearing. Forcystus can hear his men shifting in the brush, getting impatient. He sends a quick glare in their general direction as he moves his hand to find a better grip: his arm is growing heavy.

"Time has run out," Aurion says with a soft, slow smile. "Do as you wish."

Forcystus takes initiative and signals his men.

It is a long trudge back to the ranch. Aurion walks as if a machine. His grip on his son is unfailing even though about five troopers have (gently) tried to pry his fingers off.

I must meet this man again, Forcystus thinks to himself.

_-In Which a Yes-(Wo)man Attempts to Articulate Herself-_

Pronyma has no words; she agrees with everything her lord says, from the vehement condemnations to the bitter tirades on betrayal. In the end there can only be one conclusion:

Lord Aurion was a fool.

Lord Yggdrasil will judge him accordingly.

And Pronyma will laugh, for too rarely does a fool truly pay for his idiocy.

When she hears that Lord Aurion's son has been allowed to live in Derris Kharlan- _sacred land_- she screams in outrage.

_Heresy!_

She vows then and there to ensure that Lord Aurion receives his due; she will never forgive him for paining her god.

_-GRAGH! (In a Patrician and Pompous Way)-_

There is one moment of pure peace as I wake before everything is shattered, and I return to a living hell. The machines- how they irritate me so! - dart about me; cold metal brushes against my skin in feeble attempts to revive it. My hackles are raised, and yet this wolf can do nothing more than sit and suffer.

I howl my rage: a flailing arm knocks instruments from their tray; a well-placed fist sends a worthless lackey flying. Lightning strikes from the heavens those who would stay to receive it. Pain, pain, pain! Pain is coursing through my veins with every move I make as bandages trap me in this coffin of recovery and rest. I want to be free; I want to make the human bleed! Yet he has his seraph's mercy, while I, the loyal one, pay handsomely for my sacrifice.

The cloth wound tightly around my face suffocates; hands reach and rip bandages from their resting places. The things are stained a dull crimson, a dismal proof of my valiance. I reach for the shining, silver tray (now empty) beside me and hold it up, daring myself, unwavering, to gaze upon a hero's visage.

Burns score my flesh, leaving a tragic tale of rage and fury across my face. Dried blood cracks and crumbles as my mouth curves into a snarl. This! This is the reward of loyalty! I toss the tray away, sending it skittering across the floor. Madness.

My hands shake; they want his neck!

_-This is Purely a Celebration of My Genius_**-  
**

Before I say anything further, it should first be made clear that I care absolutely nothing for the entire affair involving Lord Aurion. The Angelus Project did not involve me; in fact, I consider it only a trivial, experimental matter that was more a lark than science. Therefore, ergo, et cetera, et cetera, I have no reason to care.

Before I say anything further again, however, it should be made clear that I care greatly for the _results _of this entire brouhaha, although, to be honest, there is only one result that concerns me. It is the fate of my colleague.

Kvar is a bloody fool, quite literally. He might consider himself an intellectual, but out of the two of us, only one is truly wise. Clearly the events which have transpired have proven that I am that wise one.

His officers speak with hushed tones when I inquire about the Cardinal's well-being. "He has been refusing treatment," they say, or "With all due respect, sir, I think it would be best to leave him alone." I wave them off, for they are neither medical experts nor Kvar experts.

It is safe to say that I am the only one who is both.

I walk into his room, and there he lies, tired from his tantrums. The room itself is a mess: machinery lies sparking pathetically around him; monitors hum; bloody bandages litter his bed and vicinity. The Cardinal, though, is perfection: he is exhausted, both mentally and physically. This is my chance. This is my moment. Everything has been leading to this time, this opportunity. Here is my partner in crime, finally in a position to listen to the voice of _reason_.

"Kvar," I call. He stirs and opens one eye, glaring as usual.

"Your presence offends me." He attempts to ignore me, but no, I must persist.

"Lord Kvar," I say cajolingly, walking to the side of his bed, "surely old friends should greet each other more amiably."

"I am not in the mood."

"I understand how you feel."

And in this moment, he is mine. "You lie," he says, laughing and then coughing as the motion tears at wounds yet unhealed. Still, I can tell from his voice that he is uncertain and off-balance.

"Lord Kvar, I understand _everything_. You sit here, feeling betrayed. Your lord and master offered amnesty to the one who wronged you, and yet you remain here unvisited and uncared for. To Lord Yggdrasil, you are thinking, the Desians must be worse than trash, lower than humans. How can that be? You are crushed."

I see in his eyes that I am right. "You think too much of your abilities," he says, a subconscious attempt to subvert my influence.

I sink my claws in further. "Shall I make it simple, for you?" When he does not answer I continue. "It is an easy matter: you wish for _justice_."

This catches his attention. "And you would know how to acquire this?"

I smile, as if in sympathy. "There is something which will give you what you want- an ancient power that could bring anyone you wish to their knees, begging your forgiveness- even Yggdrasil."

His eyes shine. Kvar is won. "Tell me more," he orders.

"It is known colloquially as 'Thor's Hammer'…" I can do naught but oblige him.

_-Pragmatism at Its Best-_

Yuan was not above playing dirty. Oh no, ethics were sometimes the farthest thing from his mind. Still, even he frowned when he heard the kinds of tactics Cardinal Kvar had used to bring Kratos down. Forcing people to kill their loved ones? Threatening women and children? Honestly, what was the world coming to?

But he did not continue to lie to himself as he sat down in his office in Triet to adjust plans accordingly. In the end, Kvar had used the girl first and had sufficiently "exhausted" her, to euphemize her death. It was a shame, for although Yuan had never planned to kill her directly or indirectly, he had counted on her as leverage for Origin. (He and Kvar thought alike concerning Anna; the truth disgusted him.)

There was a son, however, so not all was lost. There was a son who would now take his mother's place in Yuan's blueprints for world salvation. Yuan had one last chance, and now he had to be doubly vigilant to ensure that this time things would go correctly. Yes, this time things would go correctly.

On the sheet of parchment he crossed out the word "Anna" with care and replaced it with "Lloyd". He stared at the name shining in black ink. For one brief moment he thought of that pitiable family, a family of pawns created only to fulfill a predestined purpose. It was a shame, but this was for something far greater than any of the Aurions could ever hope to achieve. In death they would be immortalized as martyrs.

* * *

Fact 1: Pronyma's blurb is exactly 100 words long.

Fact 2: Can you believe it? I enjoyed writing Kvar's the most.

I promise next week will be a real update, so put those pitchforks away.


	11. Preparing for the Long Haul

He was back where he belonged, but he didn't feel at all like he was actually "home". On the contrary, it felt like he was in some sort of foreign universe. He hadn't forgotten the important things, oh no, but the minor details, like how flowers smelled, or what it felt to have dirt under his boots—those sorts of things he had forgotten. In focusing his mind on events and events only, he'd discarded memories of what it was like to really live.

He figured that his dad was kind of like that as well. Maybe for Kratos, living was superfluous. After so many years, maybe all summer breezes felt the same, or maybe all sunsets were equally emotional. And then they canceled each other out, leaving their recipient with nothing in return. Maybe that was how it felt to live forever. In the end, all you were left with were your memories, because each experience would simply be similar to this one from five years ago, or perhaps this one from five thousand. There would always be some relation; nothing would ever be new. So his promise all those years ago had been unnecessary because Kratos himself would never forget; he could remember for the two of them.

But then that would be selfish, because by forcing all the burdens of keeping the past alive on his father, he only sped up Kratos's growing apathy toward life, and the last thing Lloyd wanted was for his father to be some sort of numb, empty shell of a man. It was hard enough dealing with the man as he was now.

So he'd keep his promise. He'd choose both A and B, and he'd tell himself to not forget.

And this time he would remember everything.

* * *

As a dwarf living above ground, Dirk liked to keep to himself. He thought the humans around him liked to keep things that way too. People could get that way. You could act as human as you liked, but so long as you were obscenely short and had a thick accent, everyone kept a good two feet away from you.

Thank the gods that dwarves had a distinct liking for personal space.

He'd even chosen to place his residence deep in the forest out of respect for their preferences; even if all of Iselia professed a liking for his work, they still didn't like his heritage. Thus, visitors were scarce even though the forest was relatively peaceful…mostly because the forest was relatively peaceful. People basically didn't need to be armed to the teeth in this area, and the village blacksmith was perfectly capable of fixing a broken farm tool. So Dirk kept his dwarf-human relations to a minimum.

He did recognize the school teacher, at least. He went to town sometimes for supplies; his memory was good enough to the point where he could recognize faces and features, and silver hair matched with an orange parka-thing stood out very much so. Her name was "Raine" if he recalled.

The boy with her, though, Dirk had never seen. He seemed a typical human; the boy had a messy mop of brown hair that fell into his eyes and looked as if it had been cut rather badly and generic, brown eyes. It was his clothing, however, that marked him as unusual: he had a red shirt, red robes, beige pants, and gleaming black boots which came up to his knees. This didn't seem unusual at first, but then there was the gold lining in intricate patterns on the robes and silvery buckles running up the sides of the boots to account for.

On the whole the young man looked like a priest smashed together with…with a _soldier_. Clearly not from the area.

"Hello, Dirk," Raine said. "Are you busy at the moment?"

The dwarf let out a sardonic "Ha!" of laughter. "Wish I were, but there aren't too many folks who come all this way."

The woman nodded. "I see. My young friend here"- she gestured to the young man standing beside her - "is in need of your services."

Dirk squinted at the boy. "Is that so? And what's your poison, eh?"

The boy shrugged. "Just a sword with a real edge, that's all. I looked in town and…"

Dirk held up a hand to silence him. "Speak no further, lad. I get the gist of it. You're not lookin' for a toy." He smiled broadly, although it was hard to tell with his beard in the way. "I'm your dwarf, then."

The young man leaned forward eagerly. "Really?"

"You're lookin' at a master." The dwarf puffed out his chest.

Then his potential customer drew back. "Er, I don't think I have anything to pay you with…"

"I'll take care of the cost," Raine cut in smoothly. "Consider it my apology for your previous discomfort."

The boy gaped at her, and Dirk raised one bushy eyebrow. "We all set here, then?"

"I think so," Raine said airily. "How long will the job take?"

"Dependin' on the size and quality, I'd say maybe a little under a week. You can pay me when I'm finished- insurance, if y'like." At the height of his skills he'd been able to hammer out a sword (literally) in two or three days. His stay above ground, though, was steadily lengthening that span of time. Fortunately, humans still took much longer, around a month or so. That was dwarven efficiency for you.

"That sounds good." Raine nodded. She turned to her friend. "I need to go back to town to take care of some things; is it alright if I leave you here to work out the details with Dirk?"

"Sure, that's no problem."

"I'll see you soon, then." Raine turned and headed back into the forest's shade.

Dirk looked up at the boy she'd left him with. "So what'd you say your name was?"

The boy looked taken aback. "I…never said it to begin with."

The dwarf let out a sigh of exasperation. "That was my way of askin' you for it without lookin' like an idiot. Oblige me, will you?"

"Oh! Sorry…it's Lloyd."

"Gotcha." Dirk clapped his hands together. "Well, Lloyd, give me the details inside." He turned and looked back over his shoulder. "Come on, lad, I won't bite."

"R-right."

* * *

Pronyma resisted the urge to kill her entire search squad. They had successfully tracked Lord Yuan's trail to the Seal of Darkness, but shortly thereafter, the trail went cold. Footsteps could be seen leading toward the rocky wall; there was an indent where he had probably sat down, but other than that there were no other signs of escape. Someone had been thorough in erasing tracks.

And now her men were milling around like confused chickens, not sure what to do next, and none willing to approach their irate leader. _Does every man lack courage in the face of a willful woman?_ She scorned their cowardice, even though by doing so she also was stalling their investigation.

Her comm buzzed, and Pronyma availed herself to this newest distraction. "Yes?"

Lord Yggdrasil's face appeared on the screen. Although seeming paler than usual, he managed to look otherwise as regal and collected as usual. "Pronyma, how goes your search?"

"We've lost track of Yuan, my lord," Pronyma said. "We are all at a loss." The news would not please the seraph at all, she knew, but it was much better than daring to lie and say that progress had been made.

Yggdrasil sighed heavily. "As I should have expected. We need to divert more resources to this task. I will inform Cardinal Rodyle to assist you; Yuan cannot have gone far. In the mean time, Pronyma, you will address our second pressing issue."

"Sir, I'm not sure the boy can even be located—"

Even through the pixilated screen she could tell that Yggdrasil's eyes had narrowed significantly. "You will find him, Pronyma. There will be no ifs, ands, or buts about this. _I need that boy_."

"But sir—"

"I don't want to hear it. I don't care if it is a difficult task. _Do it_."

Pronyma confined her frustration to inward screaming. "As you wish, my lord."

"Good." Yggdrasil disappeared, leaving Pronyma to vent her rage at the nearest rock.

Her lieutenant thankfully waited until after the rock had been sufficiently obliterated to approach her. "…Lady Pronyma?"

"What?" She spun around, eyes flashing.

"I…that is to say…"

"Out with it."

"Y-yes sir!" The Desian threw a hasty salute. "Orders, ma'am! Are we switching objectives to focus on locating Lord Aurion's son?"

"Lord Yggdrasil wishes it," Pronyma said curtly. "It appears that he has made it our first priority, and that the search for Lord Yuan be transferred to Lord Rodyle."

"Where does Lord Yggdrasil wish us to begin?" He was looking at her stupidly, and she had to rein in the urge to drive a fist into that blank face of his.

"Our troops alone cannot search two planets. Contact Lord Forcystus and tell him that we require a substantial force for search parties. Tell him it must be discreet. Lord Kvar, if he is in the mood."

"What about Lord Magnius?" the lieutenant asked.

Pronyma did not even try to hide her distaste. "Lord Magnius is more likely to kill the boy than capture him. The man is a veritable ape. He will have no part in this."

The Desian threw another salute. "Ma'am!" He left to address with her commands.

This left the Cardinal to her own scheming thoughts. Finding Lloyd Aurion was an irritation, a pest of a job that she honestly would rather dump on a fellow Cardinal (sans Magnius) than handle herself. There had to be someone that she could successfully coerce into doing the work for her- someone sufficiently concerned with the boy to actually make an effort to find him.

Who…?

* * *

"It's just your everyday long sword; I'm not asking for anything fancy," Lloyd said.

Dirk's thick eyebrows wrinkled. "Stickin' to the basics, then? Most people, they want a little somethin' done on the hilt or some design. You're a strange'un, kid."

"Well, I kind of grew up being alright with the bare minimum, so now it's hard for me to really splurge on anything…"

"Nah, it's no problem," the dwarf said with a laugh, patting Lloyd solidly on the small of his back. "You know what you want, so I'll give it to you." He motioned around his workspace. "Make yourself comfortable until your friend comes back; I'll get started right away. Don' mind me."

Lloyd stood up from the stool he was sitting on. "Alright, thanks."

"No problem," Dirk called over his shoulder as he began sorting through a pile of ores.

Outside Dirk's house, Lloyd drifted from side to side, unsure of what to do with himself. Exploring sounded like a wonderful thing to engage in, but with no knowledge of when Raine would return, he couldn't wander off very far in territory that he still didn't know. In the end he decided that merely strolling around Dirk's house would suffice.

He was so engrossed in walking around and taking in the sights that he didn't watch where he was going, and thus nearly tripped flat onto his face when he collided with some sort of small post stuck in the ground in the side yard of the house. Muttering a few choice words under his breath, Lloyd bent down to get a better look at exactly what had bothered to completely throw him off balance.

It was a small stone marker, made of pale rock no doubt quarried from nearby. Someone had taken care to polish it recently; it shone dully in the retreating afternoon sun.

_What the hell is this supposed to be?_ Lloyd frowned as he tried to find something to explain why anyone would choose to stick a _rock_ in the middle of nowhere. There were no words inscribed on the little pillar to clarify its purpose, but people- dwarves especially (they were a practical sort of race according to the books on Derris Kharlan) - weren't given to sticking things in the ground just to be spiteful. Maybe it was supposed to represent something? But what? Had some important event taken place on this spot? Was this someone's—?

_Someone's grave_. Lloyd's blood ran cold. It could be a grave, and he'd nearly knocked it over! (Oh gods, what a breach in etiquette…) But whose grave, if that was its purpose? He'd assumed dwarves to be solitary. Had Dirk had some dear friend or family member who was now deceased? It probably wasn't his business to know, but seriously…Lloyd was curious.

* * *

Kvar toyed with a few papers while he listened to Pronyma's lackey drone on and on about how Lord Yggdrasil needed some brat to be found pronto. There were so many more _productive_ tasks to be done, but heaven forbid one significant inferior being should disappear! Granted, it was Lord Aurion's son that Lord Yggdrasil was up in arms about, but Kvar personally felt that forgetting about the boy and letting him do whatever was for the best for all parties involved. He'd probably turn up at some ranch sooner or later anyway.

"…urgent matter, and Lady Pronyma requests your assistance in initiating a search for Lord Aurion's son."

"And what does Lady Pronyma offer me in return?" Kvar asked. "She should know by now that I do little without some sort of reward, being a downright selfish bastard." That was who he was, according to Pronyma. She was Yggdrasil's favorite- and she let the whole world know too- and therefore was entitled to saying her opinions of people to their faces whether they wanted to hear them or not. Someone needed to off that woman, and soon.

"The Cardinal said nothing concerning a reward, sir. This is a direct request from Lord Yggdrasil himself, actually."

"Yes, but to _Pronyma_," Kvar corrected. "And yet she sees fit to give _her_ job to _me_. Clearly there should be some compensation for this underhanded deal."

It was fun to watch her subordinate squirm under his acerbic tongue. Mindless idiots who wasted his time could serve little more than as entertainment, and that was what he was using this unfortunate soul for at that moment.

"I will connect you to Lady Pronyma directly," the Desian finally said, looking increasingly uncomfortable under the glittering black eyes of Kvar.

"You do that."

There was a moment of static before finally his fellow Cardinal's face filled the screen. "Honestly, Cardinal Kvar, have you better things to do than waste my time?"

"That's my line," Kvar said. "I have a ranch to run; I hardly have the time to gallivant around this depressing planet for one human boy's sake."

"Forcystus will be assisting you."

The blond Cardinal laughed. "Not any time soon, I should think."

"His _men_, then."

"It still requires that I be there, actively participating."

"I thought you enjoyed hunts, Kvar."

"Only when they're interesting. This boy seems to have no intriguing qualities to him, other than the fact that he is Lord Aurion's son. And as we all know, I've already caught an Aurion. So it is a waste of my time."

"And sufficiently mauled by one as well," Pronyma noted, and he could see her scorn.

"At least I've actually caught one. You, if I remember, do nothing at all except for grovel."

This had gone a tad too far, although that was what he had wanted. "Go to hell," she spat.

Kvar shrugged. "On my own time," he replied. "Now why don't you try to convince someone who doesn't lack a brain? I'm sure you'll have a much easier time."

"You foolish…"

"…selfish, conniving bastard. Yes, I've heard that one before. You're terribly unoriginal," Kvar said. "And how do you know the boy is even in Sylvarant anyway? For all you know he could be relaxing on the beaches of Altamira this very instant."

"I'm following a hunch," Pronyma admitted sourly.

"Oh, you would! Well, there you go. Step one completed. You don't need my help anymore, surely."

"Don't be such an idiot."

Kvar was getting tired of this conversation. Pronyma, as usual, lacked the intelligence to be witty. "Look, if you want to find this inferior being so much, why don't you get someone who actually cares to go find him?"

"I have considered that, you do realize."

"And yet you are still asking the wrong person. I could care less about the fate of one boy, much less Lord Yggdrasil's reaction, simply because this is not a matter under my jurisdiction. The Angelus Project was completed a long time ago, and I hardly want to be reminded of the ignoramus known as Lord Aurion."

Just then, brilliance struck.

"Speaking of Lord Aurion, why don't you go employ his services? You _are_ supposed to be keeping tabs on him, are you not? Why not use him for something productive on the side? And I don't mean in _that_ matter, although I'm sure you would go to any lengths to become entangled with the Four Seraphim. Although, looking at your relations with Lord Yggdrasil, one might guess…"

"Be quiet," Pronyma said in a dangerous voice, "lest I ask Lord Yggdrasil for permission to silence you permanently."

"A threat! Oh, I'm so scared." Kvar feigned distress.

"Ridiculous as usual," his fellow Cardinal snapped. "I might be even more inclined to speak with _Magnius_ over you, now. Good day, Cardinal Kvar." And she disappeared.

Kvar snorted as he swiveled his chair away from the screen. "She'd rather talk to Magnius? Was that meant to be an insult? My god, but their intelligence is nearly on par…"

* * *

Raine came back to find Lloyd staring at a small stone in the ground, apparently thinking hard about it.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, walking up behind him.

Lloyd's head whipped around. "What? Oh…not much. I was just wondering what this little marker was here for."

"Oh, I see. Yes, it does seem a little out of place. But there's probably a good reason for it."

"That's what I was thinking," Lloyd said with a short laugh. "Did you finish whatever it was in town?"

Raine showed him some assorted packages she had brought with her. "Clothes," she said shortly.

Lloyd looked confused. "But we won't be leaving for a couple days…"

"Yes, I know. These are for you," Raine clarified. "As you are now, we're going to draw suspicion. I thought it might be better to have an outfit that allows you to fit in more."

Lloyd took the packages from her slowly. "Wow…thanks." He examined them, all done up in brown paper and tied off neatly with string. "What'd you get me?"

"What any decent human being wears, except without anything too fancy. I was originally going to get you just shoes so you could break them in properly, but then I realized that I could spare myself extra bartering later."

The boy looked at her, gratitude in his eyes. "Man, I don't even know what to say. We've just met and all, and already you…"

"I'm following a hunch. I've got a feeling; that's all."

"A feeling? About what?"

"About you. Something says I can trust you."

Lloyd blinked slowly. "Huh." He blushed. "Uh…thanks."

"I also have something to ask you," Raine said. "We need to find you a place to stay while we wait for Dirk to finish your sword."

"Oh, right! Uh…I don't know. Is there an inn or something nearby?"

"I was going to offer to let you stay over," Raine said wryly, "but I suppose that could work as well, although the nearest inn is the next town over."

"Really? Thanks!"

The half-elf tilted her head to the side. "I'm not sure if you'll fit completely in Genis's bed, but I suppose it will have to do. There's nowhere else that I can think of."

"I'll fit; you'll see," Lloyd said enthusiastically.

"Very well then. Let's get back to town before it gets too late."

That night Lloyd managed to drowse off before Raine, who stayed up to finish a lesson plan for the next school day. The candle next to her flickered softly as the sounds of gentle snoring slowly filled the room. Raine's mouth quirked into a small smile as she continued to scribble down notes, ears alert for any possibility of sleep talking. Things could be learned, perhaps.

For an unknown span of time she sat there, working and listening to see if there was something to be gleaned in this quasi-eavesdropping. But the boy did not speak once (It was a good sign, she supposed.), and so in the end she set her lesson aside, blew out the light, and turned in for the night.

Her determination, however, was not so similarly stifled. She was determined to crack the mystery of this boy; she was obligated to by her own curiosity.

* * *

Pronyma was in a horrid mood after her conversation with Kvar, and in an even worse one when a visibly ailing Forcystus had also denied her his assistance on the grounds that he had just received a new shipment of hosts from the Palmacosta region and needed all available troops to maintain order. Thus, the situation in Sylvarant remained in her hands. There was only one spot of good news: Rodyle, eerily complacent to her additional orders, had given her a report already detailing no sign of any human near any of Tethe'alla's seals. That narrowed down her search.

She would have to move quickly if she wanted to find the boy; in the span of a couple of hours, he could not have gone far from any of the portals. After a considering period of thinking, she had realized that sending a team to the location of each one and scouring the surrounding area would surely turn him up somewhere. It would be easy, far easier than she had thought, and then she would be free to turn her attention elsewhere, namely finding and subduing Yuan.

What she had failed to consider was the fact that Renegades, on Yuan's orders, had already infiltrated her troops and, thanks to their leader, knew exactly where Lloyd Aurion was. Thus, it had only been a matter of sounding apologetic when they contacted their "superior" to inform her that there, like all the others, was no sign of their target in the Iselia area.

It was then that Cardinal Pronyma started becoming desperate, and people in desperation tend to resort to things they would have never dreamed of doing.

* * *

"Here you go." The allotted week had passed and the sword completed; now, boy and weapon were finally meeting.

Lloyd accepted the sheathed sword from Dirk and drew it, eyes widening as they ran up and down the length of the gleaming blade. "Amazing!"

"Aw, it's nothin', just what you wanted," the dwarf said with a chuckle.

Dirk watched as his customer went through a few of the basic forms with the long sword, humming happily. When his tryout session had exhausted itself, the young man sheathed the sword and pulled out a bag- his payment.

"You've earned this and more, Dirk. Thank you so much."

"Quality's my middle name," Dirk said as he accepted the bag of coins. "Use that blade well, lad."

"I'll do my best. Your work's too good to let go to waste." Lloyd's expression changed. "Although, I did have one question…"

"Hmm? What's that?" Dirk's brows furrowed. After all that praise, the boy still had _questions_?

"It's not about the sword; it's more about…well…I noticed you have this- this stone marker thing outside. It's been nagging me, what it's for."

"You saw it, did you? It's a grave alright. Not much of one, but I figured I'd give the poor woman somethin' at least."

"A woman? Who was she?"

Dirk nodded. "She escaped from a ranch, I think. I found her in the forest years back. Slashed up somethin' terrible. I think I'll spare you the details."

Lloyd's heart was beating uncomfortably fast for no apparent reason. "How did you know she was from a ranch?"

The dwarf circled a small area on his chest. "She had a hole right here, looked like somethin' had been torn out. I'm not blind; this is ranch territory. Those Desians up on that hill fix all sorts of funny things onto those poor fellers. Sometimes a few of 'em wriggle out, usually half-dead and crazy and what not when I find 'em." Dirk shook his head. "I put 'em out of their misery." He waved a hand toward the giant hammer leaning against the anvil. "But this lady," he continued, "was a little different on account of her clothing. She wasn't wearing rags like most of the others. Thought it was a bit strange, myself."

"Did she have long, brown hair?"

The question caught Dirk off-guard. "What's that? Well…hmm…I'm pretty sure she did."

"And...and how many years ago was this, again?"

"I'd say over ten."

Lloyd opened and closed his mouth several times. His brain had just experienced something akin to a paralyzing electric shock, and words were refusing to be said.

"Somethin' the matter?" Dirk was looking at him out of concern.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for telling me about this. I didn't mean to pry." The young man turned slowly on leaden feet and began walking toward the door. "Thanks again, Dirk."

This was a noticeable change from the infectiously happy mood of only minutes before, but understanding that something else was afoot, Dirk wisely made no comment. "Come back any time," he called before retreating back into his forge.

Raine turned away from observing the stream outside of Dirk's house when she heard footsteps behind her. "Oh, there you are," she said. "I was wondering what was taking you so long. Were you happy with…?" The words died on her lips as Lloyd completely ignored her and made a beeline for the same stone marker he had been staring at yesterday.

The half-elf woman slowly made her way to stand behind him. "Lloyd…?"

"Is this where you are?" The young man's voice was thick with emotion, and he hadn't yet noticed her.

"Is something wrong?" Raine couldn't tell exactly from where she was standing, but it sounded as if Lloyd was fighting back tears.

It took Lloyd a while but finally he forced out, "It's nothing. I'm just being sentimental." He turned away and started down the path into the forest. "Let's get going."

Raine stood beside the marker for a bit, watching as his figure retreated into the trees. She frowned: another mystery to add to her list. With a resigned sigh she began to follow him.

* * *

A/N: I did a little research halfway through writing this chapter and realized that swordsmithing takes a _long time_. Thankfully, Dirk is a dwarf and therefore is magical. But his accent is a pain to write.

Also, just to give you a little heads up, you can start expecting chapters to center around either Kratos or Lloyd, but not both of them at the same time. As they're currently separated, it's very hard to devote equitable space for both of them in the chapter, especially if some major event's occurring. I could write a bunch of filler, but I think I've proven previously that that's a waste of time.

Another heads up: I've got a bunch of exams to take/study for this week, so the next update might be delayed.


	12. Innocence Lost

After working with him for many years, Botta could read Yuan easily enough. It wasn't a difficult task: Yuan all too often let it be known exactly how he felt through his body language. Today he was sitting stiffly in his office chair, hands fiddling with a pen as every inch of him seemed to radiate a sort of nervous excitement.

"Sir," Botta said by way of announcing himself.

Yuan's eyes darted to him. "Botta."

Botta slid into the seat across from him. "You look well."

His boss scowled. Shortly after arriving at base Yuan had been swarmed by a team of medics, who'd taken advantage of his semi-conscious state to patch him up properly; Yuan hated when people fawned over him, even if they were doing it to save his life. He had this out-dated sense of self-responsibility that hindered him on occasion.

"I'm glad you think so; I can hardly move with all this…this _stuff_ wrapped around my chest."

"It looks rather fetching on you."

Yuan's eyes quickly turned murderous. "If you make one more remark about my _wonderful_ state at the moment…"

Botta held his hands up in mock surrender. "Right, right…I'll save them for when you're in a better mood."

"You do that."

And then the mood turned deadly serious.

Botta leaned forward with his fingers laced before him. "Now tell me what this is all about."

The leader of the Renegades smiled thinly. "What is there to tell?"

"What you're thinking, perhaps."

"What I'm thinking? Well, that shouldn't be a hard task. I'm looking to what's to come, Botta."

"And what's that, pray tell?"

"War."

"You make it sound easy."

Yuan twirled the pen between his fingers. "Perhaps it will be. It depends on how we proceed."

"And how will we?" Botta's voice was measured. He had always stood as the voice of reason alongside the more hot-tempered Yuan, and this exchange was no exception. Yuan might have been acting out of sheer spite in turning on Yggdrasil for all Botta knew – or he could have actually had legitimate reasons for his actions. Either option was quite plausible.

"It's already begun. We'll isolate Yggdrasil from the Desians and then strike Cruxis using Thor's Hammer." Yuan looked thoughtfully into the distance. "Hmm and I can't forget about Origin either…"

Botta's eyebrows rose. "Rodyle has completed it?"

"He says it's already in the stages of construction. That gives us perhaps a few months to annihilate any possibility of Desian interference."

Yuan, for all his impatience, was not often a fool. He had recognized far before anyone else had the kind of ambition and resentment stirring up in the man known as Cardinal Rodyle. It was the sort of burning desire that made people murderous, and rather than allow him to act on such an impulse, Yuan had approached him and offered him the opportunity to reach past the limits of the sky…and into Derris Kharlan itself. Thor's Hammer – the Mana Cannon – would give its maker and the Renegades both a viable threat against the giant that was Cruxis.

"And how will we accomplish that? The Desians number into the hundreds of thousands; we cannot simply slaughter them all." There would be a general outrage among the troops as well: many of them, despite their disillusionment with Cruxis, had family ties to the Desians.

"We will have to destroy the leadership," Yuan said firmly. "Without the Cardinals goading them on, I doubt any Desian grunt will have enough morale to face their fellows. Granted, we've already been given a head start: Forcystus is bedridden, and he out of all of the Cardinals casts the largest shadow. If we sway or otherwise use him, I'm sure we could influence a great majority to back out thanks to the Great Desian Hero. Pronyma and Magnius can be disposed of in however bloody and unfortunate manner we wish, and as for Kvar...he's Rodyle's responsibility."

"And no doubt Kratos Aurion will reach him first," Botta said grimly.

Yuan gave him an odd look. "Yes, maybe he will."

* * *

"Hey, Colette, are you alright? You look kind of pale." Genis peered at his friend through the flickering firelight. "And what's up? Not hungry?"

"Oh! No, I'm fine…" Colette forced a smile and downed a forkful of stew to try to move his mind elsewhere.

"Are…are you sure?" Genis's worries had hardly been allayed.

"Yep!"

The half-elf didn't look convinced, but he backed down and retreated back to his dinner, still eyeing her warily.

They were camping several miles from the docks near the Thoda Geyser, having stopped rather than pressed on back to Palmacosta at Colette's insistence. She had released the second seal within the geyser only two days prior, and she was dealing with the trial known as angelic transformation – only she couldn't let Genis or Kratos let on. As much as she leaned on them, Colette didn't want either one of her friends (Mr. Aurion probably didn't consider himself one, but she did!) to be too occupied with her well-being; they had themselves to consider, for one thing. She could bear pain, if only to spare them.

"Colette!"

The Chosen jumped a little, startled. "What?"

"It's just…your food's getting cold, you know." Genis was pressing the issue once more.

Colette hastily ate another couple bites of stew. "I'm sorry! I was just thinking really hard about something…" How could she explain that food now tasted like ashes in her mouth?

"About what?"

"Nothing much…just about us, and maybe home."

"Oh." Genis's face fell, and she knew that he was thinking about his lost home as well.

"I was just thinking about how amazing this is," Colette said eagerly, "that the three of us, who might not have known each other very well before – well, maybe just us and you, Mr. Aurion – are now so…close!"

Genis perked up. "Yeah, I know what you mean!"

They both looked at Kratos expectantly, waiting for a similar reaction, but the man only grunted and finished off his dinner.

"I would hesitate to call us 'close'," Kratos finally said. "I am a mercenary. We don't form attachments. We move from one job to another; there's neither time nor purpose for becoming close to a client who is just one in perhaps a hundred."

"But isn't this special?" Colette asked. "I mean, the journey of regeneration doesn't happen very often."

"So it doesn't," Kratos conceded. "However, in the broader view of things, it's simply one job. Many other tasks I am hired to do are similarly unique."

"Like what?" The Chosen tilted her head curiously to the side.

"Like escorting pilgrimages. Like defending towns from bandits."

"Those don't sound very unique to me," Genis remarked.

"No, but one never experiences the same thing twice."

And that was the end of that. The group finished dinner in relative silence; Kratos especially was thankful for the end to that line of questioning. However, it was not long before Colette and Genis were at it again, trying to get him to feed them tidbits of information about himself.

"So why did you decide to become a mercenary?"

He had mixed emotions about this conversation. On one hand, he disliked talking so much about himself, and it was hard to give suitably vague answers to questions that seemed almost too carefully tailored for getting him to unwittingly slip. On the other, there was something touching about the fact that these two kids who barely knew him were trying to break the ice. It was their youth that allowed them to do that, he had decided. Adults were too divided by skepticism and stigmas.

"The world has no use for knights anymore," he said.

"You're a knight?" Genis gave him a disbelieving look.

Kratos fixed him with a blank stare. "I was making a joke."

Genis blinked. "What? You were? Wait – oh." He shook his head. "That was pretty bad. You need to work on your stand-up."

Colette giggled. "Aww that's so sweet, Mr. Aurion!"

Kratos groaned inwardly. Their reaction was exactly as he had expected it to be, with Genis echoing his son's mild exasperation and Colette being…Colette. (She could always be depended on to be eerily cheery at any given point in the day.)

"I never claimed to be comedic." And now he just felt embarrassed.

"And you never answered the question either," Genis pointed out.

Kratos gave him a swift look before saying, "It's just what I wanted to do. I don't like being cooped up somewhere; I wanted to have some sort of occupation where I could move as I wished."

"Is it a hard job?" Colette asked.

"No. My skill is sufficient enough to the point where I can consider most dangers across the world relatively minute."

They continued this game for a few more hours, Kratos ducking and weaving as Colette and Genis threw their questions at him. In the end, though, as Kratos settled back to start the night's watch while his charges slept, he knew that for all his projected indifference, he was much closer to them than he would care to admit.

* * *

It was all too obvious that something was terribly amiss the instant they reentered Palmacosta. Only a week before when they'd stopped briefly before continuing to Thoda, the city had been lively and animated, almost beaming with confidence in their Governor-General and their resistance to the Desians. Now, though, the city was disturbingly quiet at first view. The streets were deserted, and a chill spread throughout the buildings.

"Desians," Kratos murmured.

Genis stiffened. "How do you know?" There were no flames, no smoke, no sign that Desians had attacked.

"Chaos in that direction," the mercenary said, pointing in the direction of the enormous town plaza.

Colette jumped. "Ouch! Yeah, that's really loud."

Genis looked between the two of them. "If you say so…" It didn't sound like anything more than the usual hustle and bustle of a city in full swing to him. Was it really Desians?

"Come on!" Colette broke into a sprint, dashing away toward the plaza.

The screams grew louder and the outrage stronger until Kratos almost had to cover his ears as they approached the scene. There was a large ring of people surrounding an elevated scaffold upon which several Desians prowled imperiously as their target, a middle-aged woman, stood limply with a noose around her neck and her hands restrained behind her back.

The three of them pushed through the crowd of people, all of whom seemed too angry at the spectacle in front of them to notice that they were being gently shoved aside. Now with a clear view, Kratos could see all the guilty culprits, particularly _the_ culprit lounging in front of the scaffold with his arms crossed and cocky expression on his face, as if hanging people was an everyday occurrence.

"Magnius…" Kratos hissed. He didn't approve of this sort of scene at all, but couldn't afford to intervene: the Chosen would be placed in great danger and be under even greater pressure, given the masses of expectant civilians who would suddenly be expecting Martel's divine intervention. No, they had to leave. It was a shame, but—

Only then did he notice Colette continuing through the crowd, chakrams in hand, and with an unusual urgent speed.

_This isn't the time to play the hero…!_ Kratos swore under his breath and tried to catch up with her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Genis, noticing their movement, trying to follow after, confusion on his face.

A Desian was now reading the woman's alleged offense – refusing to give service to a Desian troop – and the words, pitched to carry over the din, were ringing loudly in Kratos's ears. He could see her moving through the crowd, parting them as easily as butter. There were only a few feet between them; if he stretched he could reach her—

"Stop this!"

Damn. Too late.

Magnius held up one gauntleted hand to silence the underling who was reading. He eyed the blond girl who stood before him defiantly before beginning to walk forward imposingly. "What's this?" he barked.

"Stop this, please!" Colette begged. "The goddess Martel—ah!" She fell to the ground as Magnius savagely backhanded her across the face. The Cardinal loomed over her, a scowl on his face.

"No!" Genis made to run forward but was stopped when Kratos grabbed him by his shirt collar and practically threw him back into the crowd. "No! Colette!"

"You objectin' to somethin', you little rat? I'll teach you to mess in business that doesn't concern you!" He grabbed her by the neck and lifted Colette into the air. "Watch this, Palmacosta," Magnius spat. "This is what happens to interferin' brats!"

Colette's eyes widened as his grip tightened. She choked; her windpipe was going to collapse any second now, and she would die, her mission unfulfilled. Spots were dancing in her eyes, and all she could see was the leering face of a man she'd only encountered seconds ago.

"That is enough." Suddenly, Magnius's grip slacked and Colette fell. Landing by some miracle on her feet, her momentum carried her backwards, away from the Cardinal, and she collapsed on the ground. She inched her way up, scrambling in the dust for her chakrams. Then the Chosen stopped dead: what had once been Magnius's right arm lay before her in the dust, severed clean at the elbow. Blood stained the ground around it, sprayed in delicate fans behind the limb.

Magnius stared at his stump of an arm, disbelieving. Then he looked at the culprit. His mouth opened and closed; either the pain was too great or the shock greater.

"Leave, Magnius," Kratos said. His voice had turned icy as he pointed his sword, still dripping with blood, at the wounded Cardinal. "This is a warning. The Chosen of Sylvarant has spoken; the goddess will not tolerate such behavior."

Finally the Cardinal found his voice. "K-kill them," he croaked as he staggered backwards towards his men. A little stronger: "Kill them!"

Colette blinked and suddenly Kratos was at her side, offering his hand to her.

"Get up, Chosen. We don't have all day."

She took his hand numbly and hauled herself to her feet. He whispered something in her ear – "Save her, Chosen" – and then he was gone, gone into the fray of Desians closing around them. Colette understood immediately; she turned and ran for the scaffold as people bolted and screamed. The ring of spectators was dissipating as the sound of steel on steel and the screams of the wounded filled the air. Genis was throwing spells every which way, protected by the legs of those taller than him rushing by as he cast.

"Kill her!" Magnius screamed, clutching his stump, and Colette's heart seized up as one of the Desians kicked the lever for the gallows. Without even pausing to aim she had thrown one of her chakrams; it flew cleanly through the rope, severing the accused from her fate and returning to her hand.

Colette only had a few seconds to celebrate her victory before a Desian jumped from the useless gallows with a snarl, his ornamental staff descending toward her head. She rolled to the left and without thinking sliced down with her chakrams into his side. The half-elf screamed and collapsed, twitching, under her attack, one hand clutching his side helplessly as blood streamed from the two parallel gashes she had made. No longer was he a fellow person; her mind had labeled him an enemy only, something seeking to hurt her. She didn't waste any time; the words were out of her mouth: "Para Ball!" Lightning flashed and the Desian's twitching ceased.

Then she was turning to meet the next foe who threw himself at her, this one swinging a thick, one-handed blade. Stepping back, she focused for a brief second before gesturing with her chakrams. "Pow Hammer!" The spell collided with her opponent's head, and he reeled, momentarily stunned. Colette was about to follow up on her attack when a jet of water erupted beneath him, throwing the Desian harshly onto the university steps. Genis had done the work for her.

She blinked again, and the dust cleared and the red mist evaporated. Suddenly she was standing in the empty square staring blankly around her. Her eyes found Genis, panting, hands on his knees from the effort of the battle, and then they landed on Kratos.

The mercenary was advancing on a cornered Magnius. The Cardinal was almost to his knees, a pleading expression on his face. He could see his death clear before him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Magnius demanded, and there was a note of fear in his voice. He could see the glint of an Exsphere; he knew that flaming sword. "_What the hell are you doing here_?"

"I have my orders," Kratos said. "Consider yourself…demoted."

"Glory to Lord Yggdrasil!" Magnius screamed. "Glory to the coming Age of Half-Elves!"

The Flamberge flashed just once more in the sun.

* * *

The Chosen and her entourage found themselves camping in almost the same spot again that night. No one was really in the mood to talk; Colette and Genis were staring moodily at the fire, and Kratos was calmly eating his dinner with the same silence as always. Palmacosta had hailed them as heroes; the woman they had saved and her daughter, Chocolat, had declared them such. Still, at least for the Chosen and her best friend, the day didn't feel like a victory.

Ironically enough, it was these circumstances that led Kratos to try to stir up some interaction. "Are you two not hungry?"

"No," Colette mumbled.

"Mmrfgh…" Genis made some unintelligible noise.

Kratos frowned; this wasn't good. Then, without warning, he set his bowl down hard on the rock next to him. The harsh note caused both of his companions to jump.

"Alright, tell me what's going on."

They both stared at him blankly.

Kratos could feel impatience creeping up on him. "Tell me what's going on," he repeated.

"Nothing," Genis said sullenly.

"Wrong answer."

"Mr. Aurion, I don't think either one of us really…"

Kratos cut off Colette. "No. Something is up, and I will know what it is. If you do not tell me, it will continue to sit between us and more than likely you both will be miserable for the rest of this ordeal. Now. _Tell me_."

"…killed him," Genis muttered.

"Come again?" Kratos raised an eyebrow, but already he knew what this was all about.

"I said, I killed him," Genis said hotly.

Kratos regarded him. "So you did."

"You…you wouldn't understand it!" The half-elf stood up, nearly knocking his dinner up. "He was a person, a living, breathing person! He…he was just following orders, and I killed him!" Genis snapped his fingers. "One spell, and…just like that!" His voice cracked. "I killed him with one spell!"

"He would have killed you," Kratos pointed out. "Those were his orders, if I might remind you."

"That's not the point!" Genis exclaimed. "I…I just…he was moving one second ago, and then the next he was on the ground. And I didn't even care! I just moved on, like he was nothing! His life…I just…"

Kratos looked at Colette. "And you?"

She nodded. "I didn't really get what was going on…"

The mercenary bowed his head. Both of them were so young, far too young to be killers. And yet that was what this journey demanded from both of them, that they strip away their innocence for the greater good. He did what he could to protect them, but in the end, all his efforts might as well be for naught.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Colette and Genis froze simultaneously.

"W-what?" Genis asked.

"Neither of you should be put through this."

Colette tried hard to see what Kratos's expression was through his bangs. It was impossible, but she could feel a great, resigned sorrow emanating from him. "It's…not your fault," she said slowly.

"Yeah, it's not," Genis echoed.

"Hah. No, I don't blame myself," Kratos replied as he looked up, and now both of them could see the ironic twist of his mouth. "I could hardly blame myself for all this."

Colette and Genis looked at him curiously, for neither of them really understood what he had just said. Something was strange about his answer.

"What do you mean, you could hardly…?" Colette started to ask, but was cut off as Kratos stood up abruptly.

"I'm sorry. I need to be alone for a bit."

"Wait, but what about us?" Genis asked.

"I'll be within shouting distance. Finish your dinner." And without another word, Kratos vanished into the darkness surrounding them.

Colette and Genis looked at each other.

"I think he was lying. I think he blames himself," Colette said.

"And that's what I don't understand," Genis replied, scratching his head. "Why's he being so moody all of a sudden?"

* * *

Kratos waited until he was fairly sure that neither Genis nor Colette would hear him (especially difficult, given Colette's angelic hearing). Then he said calmly, "Alright, Pronyma, what do you want?"

The Cardinal emerged out of nowhere, a torch-bearing entourage behind her. "Well met, Lord Aurion," she said approvingly. "I'm surprised you noticed us."

"You were making far too much of a racket for me to _not_ notice."

Pronyma laughed. "And would you believe that that was the point? Although I'm surprised our little vessel didn't notice as well."

"She's not listening for you. Now, what do you want?" Had Pronyma already let Yggdrasil know about Magnius? Surely she hadn't; if there was anyone Pronyma hated more than him, it was Magnius. Still, she would probably use any excuse to put him on Yggdrasil's bad side…

Pronyma stepped closer to him, her face going cold and hard. "It's about your son, Lord Aurion…"

Kratos could have died at that instant.

* * *

"Hey, Genis?"

"What, Colette?"

"Uh…Mr. Aurion's been gone for a while now, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, now that I think about it, he has."

"Do you think we should go find him? Maybe he's gotten hurt or lost!"

"Well, I don't really think either of those things has happened, but…it is kind of a good opportunity to see what he's really up to…"

"What was that last part, Genis?"

"What? Er…nothing! Let's go find him!"

* * *

A/N: Ooh, I'm at a loss. Should I continue with Kratos or leave you all hanging for another chapter…? (As you can tell, things are about to go to hell in a hand basket.)

Also, exams are over and done, so I should be updating more regularly now.


	13. In Cold Blood

"It's about your son, Lord Aurion." Pronyma searched the man's face expectantly as she said those words, waiting for any sign of fear or shock. True enough, both were evident even though the angel hid most of it well, but how he was feeling was perceptible in the way he'd tensed and the sharp intake of breath. "You seem surprised," she noted wryly.

"What about my son?" Kratos's voice was terse and strained.

"He's gone. He's seen fit to disobey direct orders from Lord Yggdrasil and run off into who knows where," Pronyma said. "Lord Yuan was his accomplice."

"Impossible. Lloyd knows better than that." Kratos wasn't sure whether or not he'd just doubted Pronyma or his own rising anxieties. And Yuan! How…? Wherever his friend was, there would be some harsh words passing between them the next time they met.

"Apparently he doesn't. I've been searching for him for the past few days; practically the entire continent's on alert for him. And yet we can't find him. Why is that, Lord Aurion?"

The angel's face was ashen. "I don't know. I still find it hard to believe that he would even run away." He looked up. "Why see fit to tell me this, anyway? You must know I have no information to possibly give you."

Pronyma circled him like a hawk. His eyes followed her path. "No, you must, Lord Aurion. You are the only one who would possibly know what he is planning to do – you or Lord Yuan. He has been to Sylvarant before; is there a location, perhaps, that you have often spoken of to him?"

"No."

"You know you have nothing to lose by telling me what I need to know."

"Only the life of my son."

Pronyma stopped in front of him. "Did you hear that, men? Did you hear those words? Lord Aurion" – she began advancing on him – "has nothing to lose" – she was directly in his face now; their eyes were only inches apart – "except the life of his son. Now what does that tell us?"

She didn't bother for a response. "It means he's hiding something."

"How could you possibly have come to that conclusion?" Kratos asked testily.

"Don't get smart with me, Lord Aurion," Pronyma hissed, jerking backwards. "I know underneath all your purported loyalty you are dyed just as black as you once were, stained perpetually by the mark of treason. You betrayed Lord Yggdrasil and Cruxis once, yet my lord loved you far too much to punish you properly. He was too lenient; he allowed you to believe that you could get away with whatever you wanted. I know you for what you really are. You will do anything for that son of yours; you will go so far as to—"

"_Enough_," Kratos snapped. "Question my character all you want, but don't drag Lloyd into this petty vendetta of yours, or I swear I'll—"

"You'll what?" Pronyma crowed. "Kill me? Is that what you'll do, Lord Aurion? You'll kill me for slurring your son's…what is it now, his honor? Ah, but think! Think of what will happen! You can't even _touch_ me without Lord Yggdrasil cutting your hand off in response."

"Don't imagine for a minute that you have Yggdrasil that far gone in your hands." Kratos was beginning to sense a veil descending over his vision. She was goading him successfully, whether she meant to or not, and he did not care to avoid the bait like he knew he should.

"But I do!" Pronyma insisted. "He has changed from the boy you knew, Lord Aurion. He is a man now – _my_ man."

This was absolutely disgusting, and Kratos did not want to think for a minute about what his former student might be doing with a subordinate. He had never expected the boy's maturity levels to ever reach the age of the form he kept, but if Pronyma's words rang true… "And that's the sort of thing I don't need to hear about."

But the Cardinal didn't seem to understand. She was celebrating her victory: he was afraid of her and the power she wielded all because of his son. She could tell, and she was not afraid to admit her triumph. She eyed him beadily, like a magpie observing some shiny object for the first time. "Times have changed, Lord Aurion. I thought you would like to know."

"I'm hardly blind—"

"—and yet your son's escaped under your nose." She was so quick to point out his missteps, although this one in particular could hardly be considered his fault.

"And yet what would you have me do?"

Pronyma appeared to think this over carefully. "I will give you a chance to redeem yourself, Lord Aurion. I will give you a chance to keep your honor."

Kratos fell silent, daring himself to think of what Pronyma could possibly have in mind. _Anna, oh gods, forgive me in advance…_

"How about you find your son for me?" Pronyma was actually taking Kvar's advice to heart, which would have surprised even the wily Cardinal of Asgard: he would have thought Pronyma smart enough to heed anything he said with a grain of salt. But in the end the Cardinal saw Lloyd as a dead end capable of getting her nowhere, and she was willing to put the world's existence in limbo if she could just elevate herself higher.

Essentially, her doom had just been sealed.

"What?" Kratos gaped; this was unexpected. "But – but the Chosen…the journey of regeneration…"

The Cardinal flicked a speck of dust off of her shoulder. "Who cares about her? All I know is that I have a traitor to find, and your son is holding me down. He's a rat that I don't want to deal with."

But Kratos knew where his loyalties lay. To abandon Colette meant abandoning a promise he had made to both her and Genis and to Yggdrasil, and even if it were for his own son, he would not leave her and Genis to fend for themselves in a world in which they were largely ignorant. Granted, Lloyd was in a similar situation, but at least Kratos could pride himself on the fact that the boy was not defenseless; he had been well-trained.

"I must politely decline," he said, and waited for the inevitable.

"What?" Pronyma did a double-take; this wasn't the answer she'd been expecting. After all, what parent would willingly dismiss their child's well-being?

"I must politely decline," Kratos said a little louder. "It's clear to me that someone is shirking her duties; I will not be clumped into the same category as her."

His angelic sight gave him the perfect view of Pronyma's livid expression. "You _dare_," she said, shoulders shaking. "You _dare_."

Kratos did not respond.

"_Fine_," the Cardinal spat. "If you want your son's blood on my hands, so be it. I'll do my duty; in fact, I'll do more than my duty. I'll do what Lord Yggdrasil would want me to do: kill him on sight for disobedience."

Kratos took a step forward. "You will not—"

"I will do as I wish!" Pronyma shrieked. "I will not have _my_ plans ruined by some human masquerading as a seraph and his idiot son!" She took a huge, heaving breath; she was losing quite a lot of self-control. "I will kill you both if I have to."

At this point her men, who Kratos had expected to step in a long time ago, finally got the nerve to intervene before things really got out of control. "Lady Pronyma," one of them said hesitantly, "maybe we should, ah…leave? It appears that Lord Aurion does not wish to—"

"_Silence_!" Pronyma whirled around and there was a horrendous flash of light as the unlucky Desian in question was thrown violently several yards back. There was a horrific cracking noise as he hit the ground; it sounded as if something had been just dashed to pieces.

The Cardinal slammed her rod into the ground. "Ugh! This is why I absolutely hate people like you! Subservient bastards who can't do anything without considering their bloody honor…pompous idiots who act like everyone has to be held to the same standard as them…self-righteous…_pricks_!" Pronyma turned to face Kratos. "I can't stand you. It's people like you who make me sick!" She raised her rod, and the seraph instinctively jumped out of the way just in time to miss the enormous column of water that shot up from the ground.

"Abandoning people? Threatening people? Don't dare to call me self-righteous if you can't even have morals," Kratos shot back. In one fluid motion he drew the Flamberge, and in one flurry of sound he could hear Pronyma's men sprinting out of the war zone and into the darkness as they gave in to cowardice. He set his jaw firmly. The Cardinal was taking things too far, and he would respond with equal force.

"Shut up!" Pronyma roared. And then she shot forward, spinning her rod in a blur. Kratos met her at every blow, but each time the rod seemed to fall harder still: she had the power of anger on her side. Finally rod and sword caught, and the two combatants stared each other down from behind their locked weapons, trying to muscle the other one backwards and out of balance.

"You know what I'll do when I find him?" Pronyma hissed. "I'll kill him slowly; maybe I'll have a little fun with him first. Maybe I'll seal that loud mouth of his." The Cardinal was panting, and yet she was once again smiling viciously, every fiber of her relishing his expression and his rage. "I'll turn him into a bloody pulp; there won't be a part of him that you'll be able to recognize when you get to him. Your precious son will be nothing more than a pile of blood and bone..."

Kratos, experienced warrior that he was, knew obvious baiting when he heard it. His opponent was trying to hard to get him to throw himself into the fray recklessly and leave himself open – the only way she could possibly win. As things stood, Lloyd's life was on the line; he couldn't afford to let Pronyma stomp all over him emotionally as well. So he threw all of his energy into pushing the Cardinal back, and watched with satisfaction as her eyes widened.

"You're overstepping your bounds," he said tersely. "Don't forget that this is a _seraph _you're threatening." It was time to go all out: Pronyma had overestimated herself, and she needed to be reminded exactly how low on the food chain she was. "I'm never fond of doing this, but for you…"

An intense beam of light briefly illuminated the battlefield, forcing Pronyma to shield her eyes. When the light cleared, she took one look at her opponent and cursed inwardly.

Kratos tested his wings and smiled grimly. "…for you, I'll make an exception." He disliked revealing his wings, finding the act too flashy and unnecessary when he already overmatched so many, but there was a thrill and inherent arrogance that came with using them, and right now he let the feeling wash over him and replace his usual self-control. He would put this upstart Desian in her place- thoroughly.

Pronyma realized then that she had only the slimmest chance if she acted with no holds barred and no chance at all if she held back. With a ferocious cry she threw herself at Kratos. With every move she made, however, she found herself blocked instantaneously, as if her opponent were reading her far faster than her mind could formulate her next attack.

Kratos's eyes were inhumanly wide as superhuman senses systematically absorbed and analyzed every movement Pronyma was making, down to the faintest twitch of her eyelid. Her mana was massing; she was trying to cast a spell. Now her weight was shifting to her left; he would bring the Flamberge up in anticipation. She was all one giant blob of probability and data; his body had successfully reduced a living, breathing being to just that.

* * *

At first, Genis and Colette thought they were going to have a fairly difficult time finding Kratos: it was dark, and the man was hard to find when he didn't want to be found, even with Colette's angelic senses and their makeshift torch. But then the flashes of light and metallic clangs made it blatantly obvious where _something_ was going on.

"Over there! I see it!" Genis pointed a finger excitedly toward the commotion as he began to sprint toward the sounds of battle. "That's got to be him!"

"Wait, how do you know that's him?" Colette asked as she ran to catch up with him.

Genis was about to tell her that he was following a hunch when right then a familiar voice intoned, "Judgment!"

The two stopped dead as the night sky was violently illuminated by the spell.

"Genis, wasn't that…Mr. Aurion?"

"Um…hah! I'm right!" And before Colette could say anything else, Genis grabbed her by the hand and dashed off. They were heading into imminent danger, but right now the excitement of getting to the bottom of something was far too overwhelming to resist.

* * *

Kratos floated gently down to earth, regarding the disheveled and burnt thing before him with some degree of satisfaction. Judgment had only been a finishing touch of sorts; this whole "match" had been ridiculously tilted in his favor from the beginning.

"You…are very cold," the thing croaked, and it burst into a horrible, grating spate of laughter. "Very cold…"

The Flamberge considered the pitiful mass before it. Was it worth his time to put her out of her misery? "I do my job," Kratos said flatly. "Anything less is failure."

Another harsh laugh. "Go ahead, _Lord Aurion_. Finish me, as you've done with so many" – it broke off into a coughing fit – "so many of my colleagues."

"Is that what you want?" There was still a shred of mercy in him yet. If she wanted to live, he would grant that wish. It was in his power.

"Stop fucking around with me," it spat.

That was as good of a "yes" as he was going to get. "Farewell, then." There was no sound as the Flamberge descended and none still when Kratos emotionlessly flicked the blood off of the blade. He was about to start heading back to camp when he heard a twig snap sharply behind him.

Kratos turned around.

Colette screamed.

Genis nearly dropped the torch.

* * *

"Ah ha ha…it sure is warm here," Lloyd said, trying to remain upbeat despite the heat of the desert. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead on his sleeve. "It's, uh…it's really something."

Raine only smiled and shook her head. "You've never been in a desert, I take it." Granted, there was only one desert in all of Sylvarant, but she didn't want to pass up another opportunity to watch her companion squirm.

Lloyd shot her a withering look. "Hey, so I'm sheltered. What about it?"

The professor laughed. "It's just very amusing to watch you; that's all." She turned to the protozoan loping beside them. "Isn't it, Noishe?"

Noishe barked his assent and gave his master a look that read 'Who, me?' when the boy glared at him.

"Hey, just because _Dad_ took you everywhere doesn't mean you can rub it in, you goofy lunkhead," Lloyd snapped. A moment later he stopped dead. "Ack! Sand in my boots!"

Raine decided this could quickly become her new form of entertainment.

It was once they reached Triet, however, that the jovial mood took a turn for the worse:

"Desians!" Lloyd yelped, and before Raine knew it he was hiding behind Noishe, glancing every which way and looking very worried.

Raine frowned: this wasn't expected. "If we don't give them reason to bother us, they won't, you know."

"Don't let them see me!" Lloyd moaned.

Raine made a noise of exasperation and pulled boy and protozoan over to the side of the road before they drew too much attention. "What is your problem?" she hissed. "You're causing a scene!"

"Look, I'm really sorry, but I can't let those guys see me," Lloyd said in a rush. "It'll be bad news, seriously." When her expression failed to change, he continued to babble. "I should have told you this sooner, but it kind of slipped my mind and I'm serious: I'm really sorry and I'll make it up to you and—"

He was silenced by Raine slapping a hand over his mouth.

"Why didn't you tell me you were on the run?" she demanded angrily. "It would have been _very_ helpful to know that _much_ earlier."

"_What_? Who said anything about being on the run?"

"It's fairly obvious, Lloyd Aurion!"

"But I'm not really – oh, alright, maybe I am – but only just a little!"

Raine pinched the bridge of her nose. This was a predicament she hadn't expected. "And what do you propose we do? I'll have you know that there isn't another town around here for miles – of _desert_."

"I don't know…disguise me or something!"

Minutes later, Lloyd walked into Triet wearing something similar to a turban on his head and what looked suspiciously like a long cloth bandage over his mouth. Combined with the dirt brown mass of canvas he had on, he looked somewhat like a mummy.

"Just keep calm, at least until we make it to the inn," Raine whispered to him, but fortunately Lloyd knew how to hold his cool (she would never have guessed) at times, and he merely nodded to acknowledge her words before leading Noishe over a stall. The protozoan properly parked, they entered Triet's lone inn, trying to avoid the conspicuous stares of the townfolk. (The Desians, thankfully, were too engaged in putting up posters to really take notice.)

Inside it was much cooler, and Lloyd honestly wanted to wrench all of his head wrappings off and take a nice, deep breath of fresh air, but no – they weren't out of danger yet: the Desians were still combing the town.

"One room – just for tonight," Raine said to the man lounging at the front desk.

The man's eyes swept briefly from Raine to the utterly bizarre figure beside her (was that guy wearing a tent?) before dismissing the two as tourists. "Sure thing. One hundred fifty gald, please."

Money was exchanged for a room key, and with a trite "Thank you", Raine steered Lloyd away toward the stairs.

It wasn't until they were safe and secure in the little room that both relaxed. Raine sank onto one of the beds with a sigh of relief, and Lloyd tossed off his disguise without a moment to waste.

They stared at each other for a while before finally Raine said, "This is infinitely more complicated than I imagined."

Lloyd groaned. "You're one to talk." It was in times like these that he wished his father were around: Kratos could glare anyone into submission.

* * *

They'd expected to find some sort of fight, but Genis's torch illuminated a different scene: a smoking body lay at Kratos's feet; it looked faintly feminine. Both Colette and Genis quickly averted their eyes before the details of it were made completely clear to them. Kratos himself looked as unfazed as usual, although now there was a robotic (Their minds hadn't completely processed the word "angelic" yet.) tinge to him.

"_Mr. Aurion_!" Colette's hands were covering her mouth as she stood stock-still, riveted to the spot by the sight that she couldn't tear herself away from.

To be honest, it wasn't the blood that had her so shocked – she'd seen him drowned in crimson before – but his _wings_. The torchlight reflected off of sparkling, blue fragments that flapped lazily behind a man that suddenly she didn't know anymore.

_He's an angel._

He was supposed to be a mercenary, and maybe a select few would have felt anger over having been so devilishly tricked, but Colette was predictably more confused than angry – and the confused part wanted _answers_.

"Mr. Aurion," she said, and suddenly the words were falling out of her mouth, so well-rehearsed and safe: "Are you alright?"

He didn't make any sign of acknowledging her, only continuing to give her quite possibly the most lethal look she had ever seen.

"W-we just wanted to check on you," Genis ventured shakily. "Er…" He was plying for time and attempting to appeal to Kratos's better nature. His brain was working furiously to come up with more excuses, although it was also rapidly putting together the puzzle that had finally been solved. He'd always found Kratos far more suspicious than Colette ever had, and now the little quirks to the so-called "mercenary" were finally accounted for.

Granted, wings had never been part of the equation.

"We were worried about you…" Colette was adding to her friend's attempts.

They both waited with bated breath for Kratos to say something, do _anything_ in response – short of killing them, of course. Seconds ticked by, every one only increasing the tension—

And suddenly Kratos's shoulders sagged; the brilliant, blue wings disappeared; and familiarity was restored. "Is that so," he said.

The words "Thank Martel" simultaneously went through Colette's and Genis's minds.

"Yes, it is!" Colette said, now sounding much more like her usual self.

Kratos cracked a thin smile. "You're too kind."

"Hey, we're a team." Genis was warming up again as well. "We watch out for each other. Although…"

The seraph raised an eyebrow. "Although what?"

"Now you're telling us everything," Genis said firmly. Colette nodded vigorously to show her support for this proposition. When Kratos didn't immediately give them the evil eye, the half-elf pressed forward: "Because people don't like being kept in the dark," he added.

Kratos suddenly regretted ever turning around.

* * *

Yggdrasil was completely still as the shaken Desian captain made his report on his late Cardinal's behalf. "That will be all. Thank you." The communication was cut, and Yggdrasil swiveled his chair away from the hologram projector.

Pronyma was dead. Magnius was dead. Forcystus was close to dead. All had been at the hands of the man he'd expected nothing short of faultless loyalty from. And where lay the blame? The son was gone – that was a factor to consider. Perhaps Kratos had just snapped. That could also be an easy way to look at it. Or perhaps all three Cardinals had gotten in the way of the Chosen's progress. Yggdrasil couldn't fault him for acting out of duty, could he?

Still, this latest incident with Pronyma stung him. The sole female Cardinal had been…interesting, a dangerous flirtation with something darker in addition to a constant source of devotion. Now she was gone, and Yggdrasil was finding himself increasingly isolated.

It was his growing isolation that in the end pushed him to action. With a heavy sigh, the leader of Cruxis pressed a button and watched as files slowly filtered onto the holoscreen. With two Cardinals dead, he was in need of replacements if he ever wanted to create a large enough Exsphere buildup, let alone find his errant Seraphim. They would have to be carefully selected, of course: this whole business with Kratos was becoming more trouble than it was worth; he needed to find lackeys who could above all survive an onslaught from a seraph.

"Kratos, Kratos, Kratos…always causing mischief. Maybe it really is time I found a new seal…"

* * *

A/N: I'm very sorry about the delay: creative juices and motivation just fizzled out, and only recently have I been able to work up the energy to write. (I blame summer's onset.) Um, so I'm killing a lot of Cardinals off, and as you've noticed, this is leading to some OC's – but don't worry! No weird canon/OC pairings or Mary Sues!

Tossed in Lloyd for a little necessary segment break there, but you'll be hearing more from him soon.

And as you can tell, next Kratos-centric chapter will be 90% him answering questions and being awkward.

Final words: This was written mostly while listening to "I'm in Miami Trick" by LMFAO, so yeah, shenanigans were had.


	14. Moving Along, or, Let's Make Progress

Raine and Lloyd were starting to wonder if they were going to have to spend all of their stay in Triet wrapped up in ridiculous disguises, but thankfully in two days' time the Desians opted to terrorize some other town, leaving the two finally free to walk through Triet as they wished.

"We're going to need to stock up on supplies; we've got a long journey ahead of us," Raine warned as she examined some gels.

"Is the pass really that long?" Lloyd asked.

"No…it's the trip afterwards that will be much more arduous. We might not stop again until Luin."

Lloyd desperately tried to recall the map Raine had thrust in his face the previous night. (She had "treated" him to a geography lesson on Sylvarant – although it ended up being mostly history.) "Wait…but can't we just take a boat" –Raine twitched– "from that one fishing place to Palma-whatever it's called? Then we could lug less stuff around…"

"It doesn't work that way," the half-elf said in an exacting tone. "Simply taking a route because it makes things easier doesn't mean it's the best course of action. Besides, going by land will allow us to cover a wider area in our search. You understand, right?"

Lloyd scratched his head. "I…guess?"

Raine finished paying for the gels she had selected and began walking away from the stall. "Good. End of discussion."

It would be a long time before the word "hydrophobia" was even mentioned.

* * *

The teleport to Welgaia flared briefly before dying down to admit its passenger: a Desian who sniffed briefly at the stale air of the city before making a face and stepping off the portal's platform. He was a sharp-faced man with pale, tired eyes; he seemed as if he'd witnessed far too many outrageous things in a relatively short span of time. Three scars scored the right side of his face, starting from his jaw line and ending just barely before his hair line, sealing one eye in the process, and dark hair framed his face in an untamable mass.

"Far too cold here," the Desian muttered. "By all rights I should be back in Cardinal Rodyle's tropical paradise rather than suffering through this enormous superiority complex of a city." He shivered and pulled the cloak around him closer as he set off into the depths of Welgaia.

As he approached his destination, the Desian noticed someone else already there: another Desian, outfitted in her usual non-regulation uniform, her orange hair clashing with the mix of chrome, black, and blue. _Always so flashy...ugh. _"Fancy seeing you here, Erinys."

Erinys didn't even turn to look at him. "Anza. Lovely." The way she'd answered, it didn't even sound like she was truly talking to him.

"Business with Lord Yggdrasil?"

The female Desian sniffed. "What other reason would I have for coming here?"

Anza gestured to her outfit. (Her bust, he noticed, was full to bursting as usual. She certainly emulated her deceased commanding Cardinal.) "Maybe because you enjoy blending in?" Her real reason for coming, he knew, was as transparent as his: they both smelled a promotion – and an important one.

This was enough to rouse a spark of anger, and Erinys finally turned and focused flashing eyes on him. "As usual, you have nothing substantial to say."

Anza backed off, hands raised. "It's all in good fun, dear. Don't take it too seriously."

Erinys made a derisive noise and looked away. "Whatever."

* * *

The angel bowed low. "They've arrived, my lord."

Yggdrasil nodded, although the motion was hidden: the back of his chair was currently facing outward. "Then don't waste my time. Send them in." The sound of footsteps shortly after on the cold stone floor told him that his orders had been followed.

"Greetings," he said softly. "I'm sure that both of you know the nature of the dire situation that we face." The chair spun so that he faced the two Desians before him. "Cardinal Pronyma and Cardinal Magnius are no longer with us; hence, I have seen fit to replace both of them quickly before organization fails.

"From the pool of eligible candidates, I have selected you two as their respective replacements."

Anza bowed. "You honor me too much, Lord Yggdrasil."

"Do not consider this a form of praise; this is a _test_ to see if I have rightly put my faith in you. If you fail at the tasks I assign you…there will be no second chance." The seraph toyed with a strand of his hair briefly before continuing. "Anza" –the bowing Desian jerked to attention– "you will assist Rodyle in capturing Yuan. "Erinys" –Anza's compatriot merely nodded– "you will assume Pronyma's duties concerning our very own Lord Aurion. That is all. It is very clear what I expect from you."

When neither of them gave any distinguishable response Yggdrasil waved a hand. "Dismissed." As they turned to leave, however, he added, "Ah, although…a quick word, Cardinal Erinys."

"My lord?" The newly minted Cardinal's voice was a soft lilt that allowed her to pass as innocent and unassuming. From previous reports, however, Yggdrasil knew perfectly well that was not the case.

"There is something I forgot to mention concerning your mission," he said thoughtfully. "And that is…I am giving you full jurisdiction in this matter. Do whatever you must in order to corner Lord Aurion. I made the mistake the previous time of installing certain restrictions upon our search in order to ensure his safety; understanding Lord Aurion's resilient nature more thoroughly now, it is my opinion that we need not hold back. In other words…" Yggdrasil's eyes grew wrathful. "I don't particularly care what state he's brought back in; just return him to me."

Erinys' blank expression failed to change, although there was more of a gleam in her eye now. "I will not disappoint you."

"Good. Now, on your way." The back of the chair swiveled to face her again, signifying that Yggdrasil considered their discussion over. Erinys threw a quick salute and then walked briskly out of the room.

Just outside the door, she paused. "Alright, Anza, I know you were listening."

Her fellow Cardinal seemingly melted from the side of the wall. "Oh dear. We really have spent too much time together. You know all of my moves." He smiled grimly.

Erinys fixed him with a glare. "Trying to see if you can dethrone me already? Or did you forget that we now own the same rank?"

Anza shook his head despairingly. "So suspicious! I'm only interested in the broader situation – you know, for comprehension reasons."

His colleague turned sharply on a booted heel. "A likely story," she said as her parting shot.

Anza laughed quietly to himself. "Oh my, she's going to get herself killed far too quickly with that attitude." Shrugging, he left as well.

* * *

Yggdrasil sat in his office, reflecting on the meeting that had just taken place. He felt as if he had placed his trust well, but as always, all decisions he made now required second-guessing.

The obvious first choice had been Anza: a battle-hardened veteran with the obvious scars to show for it. He was the tactical type who understood his limits and who had settled on preferring to pull the strings from behind and hiding his true intentions until it was too late for his enemies to notice – similar to Yuan. It was Yggdrasil's hope that he would use that scheming mind of his to match the wily seraph at his own game. With Rodyle, Anza's former commander, assisting, there seemed very little chance that Yuan would come out of the months to come unscathed.

In the same vein, after days of debating, he had selected Erinys simply because she was the best candidate to match wits with Kratos. Younger than Anza and far more ambitious, she could be controlled easily: she lacked enough experience to be jaded and the energy to pursue a task tirelessly. Reports also indicated that she had talent and a mind that operated best in the field – just what he needed to match the ever-resourceful Kratos Aurion. Her inexperience and ambition combined would give her the creativity and drive to come up with an approach that Kratos would not expect.

If these two Cardinals seemed a little too specialized, that was exactly what Yggdrasil wanted. He wanted this problem of subordinates running amok erased as quickly as possible, and once the task of retaking his errant seraphs was over, he could easily erase both of his new Cardinals and replace them with more well-rounded candidates if he wished – or retain them if they performed well enough in all contexts. Either way, it seemed a fail- proof setup.

* * *

When Raine initially described the Ossa Trail as "a short hike through the mountains; it shouldn't be any sort of momentous event", Lloyd thought things would be a piece of cake. However, things were turning out in the completely opposite direction.

Because of its extended period of decline, Sylvarant was currently faced with food shortages as the soil proved less and less fruitful by the year. This in turn had led to an increase in banditry – which Raine and Lloyd were now privy to.

The young swordsman couldn't determine which was worse: the rusty knife currently prodding his ribcage or his assailant's halitosis. "Drop yer valuables and nobody gets hurt," the thief snarled, his breath causing Lloyd to grimace – which was entirely noticeable. "What's that 'spression for? Somethin' wrong with my face, brat? Huh?" The knifepoint poked him a little more sharply.

Lloyd tried his best to keep his voice calm; out of the corner of his eye, he could see Raine backed up against the face of a cliff, two bandits leering wickedly at her. "No…" He dropped their bag of gels and his sword to the ground at the man's feet. "No problem at all."

The bandit smiled toothily. "I thank you kindly for yer little donation." He bent down to retrieve the bag, his knife still at Lloyd's chest.

"Hope you mean to the church." Like lightning, Lloyd knocked the man's arm out of the way and booted him hard in the gut, sending his would-be robber stumbling backwards. He knelt down to retrieve his sword, drawing it and thrusting forward in one motion to impale the bandit through the chest as he rushed forward. "Left yourself wide open, thanks for that." Pulling the sword out of the dead bandit, Lloyd turned to take care of the other two thieves.

One of them was watching the point of his gleaming sword warily, realizing the obvious mismatch between his puny knife and dwarven steel. The other had decided that Raine would make an excellent hostage. "Drop the blade, kid, or yer woman's deadmeat."

Lloyd frowned. "Sheesh…" Talk about cliché. Was there any time when the first course of action _wasn't_ to take the woman hostage?

"I mean it!" The knifepoint dug a little deeper into Raine's throat.

The Professor rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You don't even realize what kind of situation you're in." Grabbing his wrist and forcing the knife away from her, Raine jabbed an elbow into the bandit and then squirmed out of his loosened grasp when he yelled in pain.

"Damn you--!" That was as far as the man got as Lloyd took his cue and dove in, slicing through the man's wrist and effectively disarming him. The bandit screamed in pain and lashed out with his other first, catching Lloyd on the cheek. The swordsman faltered, giving the other bandit, who until then had been merely gawking, time to make a move of his own and jam his knife into Lloyd's shoulder blade.

Lloyd screamed and whirled around, sword flashing in desperation as he slashed wildly. His attacker crumpled to the ground, blood leaking from the long diagonal gash running from shoulder to hip. The young swordsman weakly turned to find their last bandit out cold, victim to Raine's staff, which she had retrieved during the melee. "…oh good."

And with that he collapsed.

* * *

Erinys sat in her new office, fingers steepled as she mulled over her first move. It had to be something that would catch her prey unawares; she knew that she couldn't chase him to death. _I need to crush him with the full force of Cruxis; I can't be lenient._ The full force…Pronyma's forces in all numbered probably only into the hundreds – at most, a thousand or so. She could perhaps count on Forcystus eventually, but she preferred to keep the number of commanders to just one: her.

She already understood that her predecessor's plan was flawed, and fatally so. There was no possible way that they would be able to find Lord Aurion through simple search parties: there was too much area to cover and too little time before he managed to blend in and disappear entirely. A possibility was the son: she could find him and use him as bait. But the problem was that the son would be harder to find than the father, considering that hardly anyone outside of the Four Seraphim and those few residents of Welgaia (and she would never consider asking those lifeless shells for anything) knew exactly what he looked like.

No, she had to find some other way to extend her reach throughout both worlds in a matter that would ensure zero loopholes. The full force of Cruxis…

Suddenly, Erinys bolted from her seat. "Perfect." Erinys' mouth curved into a vicious grin. Cruxis' power did not simply extend to just the Desians and by extension, brute force; Cruxis controlled every belief of every being in the twin worlds: a word from their beloved Church and the people would eagerly follow. If she could not find Kratos Aurion on her own, she would have the people do it for her. She would isolate him, remove any sense of sanctuary.

And she would do it through the church.

_Martel herself will judge you._

_

* * *

_

Lloyd awoke to darkness and a crackling fire. "Wha…huh?"

"Oh good, you're finally awake. I was wondering when you were going to come round." Raine peered down at him. "I was afraid my spell wasn't good enough."

"Your spell? What do you mean – ow!" Lloyd winced as he tried to sit up.

"Your shoulder is still healing; I cast First Aid and did what I could, but there's probably still some residual damage. I'm afraid I'm no healing master." Raine frowned.

"Oh…" Lloyd rubbed his shoulder, which was plastered in bandages. "Well, thanks. I mean – you saved my life and all."

"You're welcome." Raine's lips curved into a smile. "It was the least I could do, considering what you did. I have to admit, you're quite skilled with a blade."

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "Well my dad taught me and all that – and he is a master. So I'm okay." He laughed. "He'd probably be telling me off for forgetting about that other guy and getting myself injured if he were here. You know…" Lloyd cleared his throat and then tried to imitate Kratos's deeper baritone. "'You need to be always aware of your surroundings, Lloyd. Mistakes like that could have resulted in your death.'"

Raine laughed lightly. "Yes, I can see him saying that. Now, did you want some food? I just finished making a little something."

"What? Really? Of course!" Lloyd perked up and then dug in with gusto as she handed him a bowl of stew. "Thanks!" The first spoonful, however, proved fatal, and Lloyd choked.

Raine was immediately at his side, looking him over with concern. "Is something wrong?"

Lloyd coughed and swallowed. "N-no, everything's fine. I just, er, forgot to chew." He gave her a quick thumbs up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Nothing's wrong! It's great." Lloyd gulped down a few more bites (What was she trying to do, feed him toxic waste?) in hopes of satisfying her.

Raine beamed. "That's good to hear. Sometimes my brother disapproves of my experimental cooking, but it's always been my belief that good food only comes with sufficient experimentation. Tonight I tried combining all three kinds of satay – for a fuller infusion of flavor, you see."

Infusion of flavor? Well, that was one way to put it. "Well, it's certainly…different," Lloyd volunteered. He hastily changed the subject. "So, where are we?"

"We're near to the mountain town of Hima," Raine told him. "I was hoping not to have to drag you across the mountains, and thankfully a caravan happened to be passing by. They were kind enough to take us to here."

"Sounds cool. What's the plan for tomorrow?" A real caravan – and he'd missed it. Damn it!

"Information gathering," Raine said. "We'll see if anyone has any news about the Chosen – or Desian movements, for that matter," she added.

"Right." Lloyd nodded and then, noticing how she was looking at his mostly-full bowl, choked down some more of his dinner. "I got another question for you."

"Really."

"Yeah. You know, you said you can cast spells, right?" Was that just him, or did Raine look slightly paler?

"Yes, I can."

"Well, I was just wondering – since obviously you have to have elven blood and all that to use magic – if you were like…an elf. Or a half-elf."

"I'm…an elf," Raine said. "A full-blooded one. I'm afraid my abilities are still somewhat limited, however. My brother and I moved to Iselia when we were very young, and among humans, I wasn't able to understand my power until I was older."

"Oh." It sounded plausible, although Lloyd couldn't remember for the life of him any other instances of elves leaving Heimdall – not since the Kharlan War at any rate. The books had all made it sound as if they liked to stay there permanently. "What about your parents?"

"They died shortly after we moved to Iselia," Raine said smoothly.

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be. It was in the past. Now finish your dinner."

"R-right."

* * *

Hima proved to be more of a rest stop than a town – not that Raine and Lloyd minded. It allowed them a chance to get some more supplies, which Raine attended to while Lloyd explored.

Hima's lone inn was a bland brown affair that blended in with the cliff wall that it had been built into. All the same, it was the only thing – aside from the views – that merited any interest (although what was this about _dragons_?) from Lloyd. He walked in hesitantly.

"Thanks, Sophia. Take care of him, okay? I'll— hey! Watch where you're going!" Lloyd flailed as a black-haired young woman pushed by him, dressed in a terribly eye-catching outfit…in all senses of the word.

"Sorry, didn't see you." He tried not to gawk. It was difficult.

"Geez…" Throwing him a venomous look, the woman stalked out the door, muttering to herself about men with 'filthy minds and no sense of personal space'.

Lloyd frowned and dusted an invisible speck of dust from his shoulder. "What's her problem?" He turned around just in time to see a woman emerge from one of the upper floor rooms. "Hi."

"Oh! Hello, I'm so sorry you had to wait…" The woman hurried down the stairs, quickly smoothing out her dress. "I'm Sophia," she said. "Were you looking for a room? It's eight hundred for one night."

"Oh, no…I'm just looking around," Lloyd said. "My friend's shopping outside, so I thought I'd just explore a bit. I mean – that's alright, right?"

"Oh! Of course! Although…" Sophia glanced up at the room she had just come out of. "One of our guests is currently ill; I don't know if he's contagious or not."

Lloyd was about to point out that if that guest was contagious, it wouldn't do much good for _her_ to be in that room, much less for people to be in the inn, but realized that this wasn't the time to be observant. "Gotcha." He turned around and waved briefly. "Thanks."

"Thank you for your patronage," she said mechanically.

Outside, Lloyd found Raine ready and waiting for him. "Anything interesting?" She asked.

Lloyd thought about the mysterious woman he'd bumped into. _What was with that uniform? That's not from around here_. He could tell Raine about her…but really, that wasn't important to finding his dad and her brother. Maybe later – like as a side quest or something. "Nope. It's kind of a small town, huh?"

She smiled faintly. "That's an understatement."

"Did you find out anything interesting?"

Raine tilted her head to the side. "Apparently there was an altercation in Palmacosta some time ago between the Desians and, according to some accounts, 'divine intervention'."

"Divine, huh? Sounds like our guys." Lloyd grinned; it was good to hear some news about his dad. "Although…if they were in Palmacosta…shouldn't we have taken the boat?"

Once again he missed Raine twitch. "No. By now they've no doubt moved on far from there; they could be past Hakonesia Peak for all we know."

"So what does that mean for us?"

"It means we need to get moving."

* * *

Sheena Fujibayashi was not happy, and it clearly showed in the force of her step and the tight set of her jaw as she raced through the forest. "That jerk…ugh! Why can't I go anywhere without people _gaping_ at me? He's just like that idiot Chosen…"

A puff of smoke announced Corrine's arrival as the Summon Spirit settled onto her shoulder. "I'm sure he didn't mean to look, Sheena!"

"Sure he did," Sheena said sullenly, pulling up short in a small clearing. "Just like all the others." She groaned. "And now because of this whole mess, the Chosen's probably _miles_ away. How am I supposed to kill her if I can't even catch up to her?"

"We'll get them at the next seal!" Corrine chirped. "You just have to be patient!"

"There's only two left," Sheena shot back. "I'm running out of time!" She drove her fist into a nearby tree trunk. "Argh! This is _impossible_!"

_Are you sure you don't need any help?_ The joking voice of a certain red-headed pervert rang in her head. Sheena gritted her teeth. "Damn Chosen…I'm not going to let you get the last laugh!"

It was then that the giant caterpillar and mantis decided to attack.

"I HATE THIS!"

* * *

"I will have you know that I recommended you personally, Anza."

Anza chuckled. "Then I must thank you, Cardinal Rodyle. It is indeed a great honor – and to know that you think so highly of me…" They had decided that their preliminary meeting would be over some celebratory tea, like the gentlemen they were.

Rodyle flapped a hand dismissively as he raised his cup to his lips. "Not a problem at all. I need colleagues I can trust, after all. And who better than my trusted lieutenant?"

_Am I his pawn?_ Anza was willing to play that game- for the moment. He would come into his own when he liked, once this mission was over. For now, he would allow Rodyle his moment of self-satisfaction. "Our bond can only strengthen our cooperation," he said earnestly. "Lord Yuan will not be able to withstand our combined genius."

"Yes, the wily serpent is hiding for the moment; we will have to lure him out."

Anza thought hard. "We should review any film we have of Lord Yuan prior to his defection. I'm sure they'll reveal something of his intentions – aside from war. There must be some clue, some trace he has left behind." No man was flawless; Lord Yuan was in fact quite the model of that.

Rodyle scratched his chin. "I previously reported to Lord Yggdrasil that Lord Yuan was often in the company of the Tethe'allan nobility; perhaps we can begin there and potentially reverse his connections."

"And if he is with the Renegades," Anza also offered, "we'll have to follow them as well. There has to be some way they receive funding for supplies. We've never considered financial tracking before; in my mind, this is another option."

"No doubt we also have a few infiltrators within our ranks," Rodyle mused. "Recent additions and the like…we will need to review and then interrogate."

"As always, we think in tandem." Anza smiled crookedly. _Although one day it will be just me._

"Intelligence enjoys company." Rodyle laughed. _Do not think yourself completely free of me yet._

_

* * *

_

A/N: Okay, first I have to apologize for taking a month and then some to write this. However, as yours truly is currently working and trying to do college business at the same time, I've got what? Half an hour each day max? I hope soon I'll be able to pick up the pace; we're hitting the fun part!

Secondly, as you can see, I've introduced the OC's that I promised last chapter: Erinys and Anza. "Erinys" comes from the Furies of Greek mythology, in keeping with the Greek roots of Kratos's name – and thus connecting her to him; "Anza" is…the name of a street in San Fransisco that I've always liked. (Although apparently he was some Spanish explorer/captain?) Anyway, both of them were inserted for the purpose of providing a more "direct" enemy for our two renegade seraphs and for some humanization of the Desians in general. (…okay, that wasn't the best word choice.) Hopefully this chapter has given you a decent sampling of their individual characters; I designed them to be sort of like opposites: the veteran versus the new girl, logic versus instinct. Also understand that although it sounds like they're both going to get their man very quickly, things don't always go to plan.

Also, I feel like such a sucker saying this, but reviews essentially fuel my chapters.


	15. Intersection

"So…just a little further through these trees and we'll be able to see Luin, right?" Lloyd asked, glaring at Noishe, who had sidled up to him whining pitifully. "Oh, come on, you big wimp, there's nothing I can't handle in here."

Raine nodded as she looked down at their map. "If I'm reading this properly, you are correct."

Lloyd yawned and stretched his arms as they continued to walk through the forest. "That's good, because I'm getting a little bit bored of trees, trees, and more trees."

His companion smirked. "What's this? Didn't I hear you enthusing about your very first forest not more than a few days ago? My goodness, your excitability is short-lived."

"Hey!" Lloyd scowled. "It's just…there's a lot of trees, okay," he retorted. "And I—" He stopped mid-sentence and sniffed the air. "Hey, is it just me, or does something smell like it's burning?" He started as Noishe pulled away and dashed off for the safety of the woods, yelping. "Hey! Noishe! Come back!" Too late: the protozoan had disappeared into the trees. "Aw, man…wonder what's up?"

Raine frowned. "Now that you mention it…no, you're not the only one." She slowed her pace and took a few, cautious steps forward. "And if you listen closely enough, you can even hear the flames. How strange." It was dry season in Sylvarant, yes, but the air wasn't arid enough and this forest not dead enough for trees to start randomly combusting. That meant that this fire was intentional but really, who would start a fire in the middle of dry season? It was like trying to one-up nature, and everyone knew how that ended—at least, everyone who had a working brain.

"The hell? You're right!" Lloyd dashed ahead, searching for the source of the flames. "What's going on around here—whoa!" He froze right before he was about to vanish from Raine's sight. "Hey, Raine, you gotta come see this!"

The boy then made what Raine interpreted to be a gesture beckoning her to catch up with him, and she complied, driven faster by the fact that she had heard not excitement or awe in his voice, but shock and…fear? She slowed before she could fully catch up to Lloyd; she could already make out the telltale red glow nearby. "Goddess…"

Luin was on fire, and now that they had drawn closer, both Lloyd and Raine could make out faint screams in between the crackle of the flames.

"Who the hell would do this?" Lloyd asked in disbelief, fists balling up in rage. "This can't be an accident!"

"Desians, I bet," Raine said grimly. She turned away with a sigh. "Well, nothing we can do about this. Let me go sit down for a moment and chart out a new route for us, alright, Lloyd?" She waited for confirmation, but when she received none, Raine whipped around, staring at the blank spot where Lloyd had been mere seconds ago. "Lloyd?" She peered down the road. "Lloyd!"

Lloyd had already started to walk toward the burning town at an alarming pace. With a burst of speed that she would have otherwise never thought possible, Raine sprinted after him and managed to grab hold of his arm. "Lloyd, don't be an idiot about this; you're going to get yourself killed!"

Lloyd struggled to break through her grip. "You don't understand!" he yelled. "I _have_ to help them! This isn't right!"

"Now's not the time to be a hero," Raine snapped. "Things like this happen all the time in Sylvarant, and only when the Chosen releases the seals will they stop. So quit this – or do you want me to have to break the news of your death to your father?"

But the mention of Kratos seemed to only make Lloyd angrier, and the boy wrenched his arm out of her grasp. He spun around and drew his sword, pointing it at Raine. "Don't tell me anything about the Chosen saving the world," Lloyd spat. "That's not going to make anything better – _anything_! If you" – his breath was coming in quick, shuddering gasps – "if you try to stop me, I swear I'll kill you. Just…I need to do this!" And then he was gone, pelting down the road toward the burning town and toward imminent doom.

Suddenly, Raine felt very tired. She needed to go after Lloyd—she knew she needed to. But right now…she sighed and leaned on her staff. "Why can't young people ever listen to reason?"

* * *

Sheena howled her fury as she threw another flurry of spell cards into an oncoming attacker and set him ablaze with a seal. "You filthy bastards, attacking innocent townspeople – I'll kill you!" she screeched, fanning out another series of cards. "Who's next?!" After rounding up most of the townspeople, the Desians had quickly surrounded her, and now they had her trapped in a circle, jeering as one by one – or in groups, even – they made a game out of wearing her down. Sheena wiped the sweat from her eyes and glared as ferociously as possible. She was _not_ going to lose to these guys; she was Mizuho and she was better than all of them. Still, their numbers were actually wearing her down; already she was nursing a deep cut on one of her arms, and her energy reserves were running low.

Her next opponent lumbered into the ring, a giant, hulking specimen of half-elf who hefted his standard-issue sword as if it were a toothpick. He leered at her. "Alright, girlie, time ta—" He didn't get much time to say more as Sheena used his monologue to zip forward as fast as she could and slam a foot into his mouth, driving him to the ground as teeth and blood flew through the air. The Desian hit the ground with a groan, and before he could do anything more, Sheena had already delivered the final blow, a punishing second kick to the face.

"C'mon, Desian pigs! I'll show you the real meaning of fear!" Another Desian came forth, and Sheena prepared to catch him off-guard like his comrade when all of a sudden she felt a hand grab her ankle, and she fell to the ground in an ungainly heap mid-charge. The ninja glanced behind her; the Desian that she thought she'd knocked out had managed to remain conscious long enough to impede her attack. Sheena growled and lashed out with her other leg, feeling it connect with flesh. The grip on her ankle slacked, and she wriggled free, but it was already too late; the second Desian gave her a short smile and then plunged his sword downward. Sheena closed her eyes and braced for what she hoped would be a quick end…

…which never came. Sheena cracked one eye open in time to see her would-be attacker's head go flying through the air. "What the…"

"Hey, are you alright?" And then a gloved hand was swarming into her field of vision, and all Sheena could do was nod dumbly and accept it. She got up and dusted herself off, wincing as her hand brushed against the gash on her upper arm.

"Who the hell are—?"

"No time to talk; you should run! I think there's still a few villagers who need saving." The boy saluted. "Don't worry about me. I can take 'em."

"You are either an idiot or a lifesaver," Sheena said in disbelief. This kid looked even younger than her; how the hell did he expect to win against twenty Desians on his own? He didn't even have an Exsphere!

"Hey! They're getting angry! Better go!" the boy shouted. "I work better without distractions! And you're injured!"

Sheena gritted her teeth. On one hand, he had a point. On the other, she didn't like giving up fights. But he had mentioned villagers, and this was Pietro's home, after all. "Fine!" she spat. "But I won't leave you alone!" She whipped out a guardian card and activated the seal, standing back as a large, birdlike creature erupted out of thin air. "Don't die!" And then the ninja vanished with a puff of smoke.

Lloyd chuckled as he twirled his sword and settled into his stance. "Oh, trust me. That's one thing I can't do."

* * *

Raine treaded cautiously through the burned and smoking town. "Lloyd?" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Lloyd? Are you there?" By the time she had gotten to the village, the Desians had left (Lloyd had made freakish time to get here so quickly.) and all that was left were a bunch of embers, corpses, and structurally unsound buildings. No sign of Lloyd, though. She peered through a maze of blackened wood, searching for a flash of red underneath the rubble. "Lloyd?"

A cough – a faint one, but an audible one. "Lloyd!" Raine exclaimed.

"No, help me…I'm trapped underneath this beam…" The voice was weak and definitely feminine, which confirmed it as definitely not Lloyd's, but a person in need was a person in need. Casting building safety to the winds, Raine plunged into the wreckage, hissing as a nearby wooden pole collapsed, raining sparks down upon her.

"Where are you?"

"Over here…you're close."

And then Raine saw it: a scrap of pink ribbon poking out from under a nearby pile of wood. She approached it and touched the wood hesitantly; it was still warm.

"I see you," she called to the invisible voice. "Give me a few minutes." Hefting her staff, Raine began prodding pieces out of the way, shoving wood aside herself when she had to.

More than a few minutes later, Raine had gotten enough out of the way to unveil a young woman in a decidedly foreign outfit. "Miss?"

The woman sighed and twitched. "Thank Martel…I wasn't sure how much longer I could last."

Raine stepped into the wreckage to help the woman to her feet. "You're injured," she said, noting the long cut down the woman's arm and the splinters of wood still stuck in her clothing.

The woman nodded and wrenched some of the splinters out, wincing. "Yeah, I wasn't being careful. I thought I could make it out on time, but then the building collapsed on me; lucky thing there was an air pocket or I would have both suffocated by now."

Raine frowned. "Could you hold still for a moment?" Her staff glowed.

The woman blinked. "Huh? Okay, but why—oh." She nodded as she saw the glow of mana. "Thanks."

"_Nurse._" Raine stepped away as the spell did its work. "Are you – you're not from these parts, are you?"

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm definitely from out of town. A friend of mine lives here, though, so when I saw the Desians attack, I rushed in." She scratched her head sheepishly. "I probably would've died if some guy in red hadn't shown up. Don't know where he's gone off to, though. I think the Desians got him. Poor kid."

Raine paled. "The Desians got him?"

The woman nodded slowly. "I…think so. I could hear them—he told me to try to save some of the villagers while he took on this huge group. After a little while I heard this really big cheer…"

"Oh no." Raine covered her eyes with a charcoal-blackened hand. "Desians, Lloyd…I _told_ you to stay back."

"You know him?" the woman asked suddenly. "You're his friend?"

"Of sorts," Raine said. "I was actually helping him search for someone when we noticed the blaze and he had the same reaction you did."

"I see." The woman looked down for a moment and then refocused on Raine with a strange intensity. "Look, I know this is awkward since we just met and all, but can…can I get your help? That guy – I owe him big time, and leaving him to rot in a ranch is the last way I want to thank him. But I can't get to him by myself…"

Raine stared at her. "Wait, let me get this straight. You expect two people, one of whom has no real combat experience whatsoever, to be able to just walk into a human ranch and…and…"

The woman smiled guiltily. "What other choice do I have? And we're not exactly just two 'people', per se." A puff of smoke suddenly heralded the arrival of a small, multi-tailed fox. "Corrine's part of the team too!"

"Rescue mission! Rescue mission! Let's go!" the little fox exclaimed, dancing around.

Raine blinked. "What _is_ that thing?"

The little fox stopped dancing and glared at her. "I'm not a thing, I'm Corrine!"

"Corrine is a Summon Spirit," the woman explained. "He's pretty good at scouting and stuff—and he can hold his own, too!"

"Yeah! I'll beat all the bad guys up, Sheena!" Corrine proclaimed.

The gasp of glee escaped out of Raine's mouth before she could contain it. "A Summon Spirit?" she asked breathlessly. "In the flesh?"

"Hey, Sheena, I don't like the way this woman is looking at me," Corrine said sourly.

"Oh, no, no – it's just…I've never seen a Summon Spirit up close!" Raine exclaimed. Her eyes were already filling with a strange light. "Imagine the possibilities!" she muttered to herself. "The research I could conduct!"

"H-hey!" Sheena waved a hand in Raine's face. "Look, are you going to help or not?" She was starting to question her request of this woman who, like everyone back in Sybak, seemed to be focused more on dissecting Corrine than on relevant matters.

Raine regained control of herself. "What? Oh – oh yes, of course." She smoothed out her hair. "I'm sorry; I just got a little carried away there. I apologize." Even if she didn't approve of how rash Sheena's plan sounded, it was still the only possibility she had to get Lloyd back.

Sheena and Corrine shot each other a look before the ninja turned back toward her new ally and said, "Okay, cool. What's your name, by the way? Corrine's already spoiled the surprise; I'm Sheena – Sheena Fujibayashi."

_No, not from Sylvarant at all. Maybe I can study this one too_. Raine masked her thoughts well, however, and merely smiled cheerily. "I'm Raine Sage."

Just then, a voice behind them rang out, causing Corrine to hastily disappear in another puff of smoke. "Sis?"

* * *

And the jig was up. His cover had been blown—not that Kratos truly regretted it; on the contrary, he was enjoying the fleeting semblance of freedom that he now had. Genis and Colette, for the most part, had been incredibly forgiving of his deception, going so far as to point out all of the times he had saved their lives and that nothing had really changed so far as the Journey of Regeneration was concerned; it was just that now they had two angels in the party, one of which had proven himself to be a rather heartless killer at times.

"…who was that lady?" Genis had asked.

"No one of consequence," had been Kratos's response, and, realizing that this was his way of saying 'It's none of your business', neither of the two children had pursued that thread of conversation any further, although Genis now wore a nasty smirk on his face every time Kratos deferred to Colette on some issue.

From the southern continent they had made their way upward through the Hakonesia Peak, stopping to release the third seal at the long-abandoned Balacruf Mausoleum before continuing on to the fourth and final seal at the Tower of Mana. Here they had run into a snag: the door was locked. A fellow traveler who happened to be pounding dejectedly on the door when they arrived mentioned that he had heard a rumor that the key was in the possession of someone at the Church in Luin, but that he had assumed that the door could be simply broken down. Kratos, just for good measure, had struck the door solidly with his sword, but to no avail. They would have to go to Luin.

The first sign that something was amiss appeared in the form of Noishe, who charged out of the forest toward his master, yelping and tail wagging furiously. Kratos's eyes widened as he caught sight of the protozoan; Noishe was here, which meant that Lloyd had to be nearby. His son—he had actually _found_ him. He scanned the surrounding area, searching for a flash of red or the form of his son, but no luck.

"That thing is _huge_!" Genis exclaimed as he whipped out his kendama.

Kratos slammed a hand onto the ball at the top of the toy before the boy could start swinging anything. "We're fine," he said flatly, even though his heart had started beating painfully fast. "This is a friend." And then he was nearly bowled over as Noishe smacked into him, bit into a piece of his cloak, and then started trying to drag him off. "Noishe—stop—" Kratos dug his heels into the ground and ground the protozoan to a halt. "What's going on?"

"Is this your dog?" Colette asked as she approached Noishe, who turned and regarded the stranger with a curious expression. "He's so cute!"

"He's not…" Kratos realized that this wasn't the time to explain that Noishe was in fact a semi-mythical beast who was once a bird. "…yes, yes he is." He turned back toward Noishe and hissed, "What are you doing here? Where's Lloyd?"

The protozoan only responded by trying to drag him forward again.

"I think he's trying to get you to go somewhere," Genis said unhelpfully.

"I can see that," the mercenary snapped. He repeated his question to Noishe. "Where is Lloyd? He's supposed to be with you."

This time, Noishe seemed to understand that Kratos did not prefer being dragged along by his clothes, and released his master before pounding on down the road toward Luin, stopping some feet away from them to turn around and howl.

"We're not going to actually follow—oh, why do I even bother?" Genis asked exasperatedly as he saw Kratos already striding off after his 'dog', Colette close behind.

Soon enough, Luin swarmed into view – or what was left of it, at any rate. Kratos took one look at the charred ruins of Anna's hometown and turned to Noishe. "Lloyd is in _here_?" Gods, Lloyd could be anywhere – buried underneath that former storefront over there, or smashed beneath a piece of rubble or floating limply in the bay surrounding the town or…

He heard voices.

"…oh yes, of course. I'm sorry; I just got a little carried away there…"

Colette clapped her hands in glee; she had heard the voices too. "It's the Professor!" she squealed, and that was enough for Genis to go dashing off into town. Seconds later, his cry reverberated through the abandoned town. "Sis!"

Kratos and Colette hurried after the mage with Noishe in tow, arriving on the scene just in time to see both siblings in the midst of a hug as—

"Miss Assassin!" Colette exclaimed. She smiled and waved. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm just peach—wait!" Recognition dawned on their onetime attacker's face. "You!" the ninja sputtered. "W-what—what kind of question is _that_?"

Raine pulled away from her brother's embrace. "Assassin?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sheena backed up nervously. "It's a long story…"

Kratos walked up, frowning. "Miss Sage?" The last time he had heard from the school teacher, she had been healing people injured from the Desian attack on Iselia. What was she doing this far from her hometown – and with an assassin?

Raine gasped, and her hand rose to cover her mouth. "Kratos!" And then, in a blink of an eye, she had regained her composure. "Hm, now I can see the resemblance even more clearly."

Kratos did not miss this comment's implications. "Where's Lloyd?" he asked tersely, ignoring the questioning looks from Genis and Colette who had now heard him speak this name at least three times without any explanation of who the person was.

Raine's eyes slid guiltily to the side. "I'm afraid the Desians got him."

Sheena jumped in. "It's not her fault—it's all mine! I was fighting them off as they were attacking the town, and he tried to help me out. I used one of my guardians so he wouldn't be alone, but it…I guess it wasn't enough," she finished lamely, not sure if her words had had any effect on the situation.

Raine picked up the slack. "I'm so sorry; I couldn't stop him. By the time I got here, they'd already left."

But Kratos had not heard anything past "Desians"; as soon as the word was mentioned, his mind went completely blank except for one thought: _They have Lloyd_. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. They were in Luin, which was near the Asgard Human Ranch, whose governing Cardinal was…was…was…

"M- Mr. Aurion?" Colette asked hesitantly. She had seen many sides of Kratos, ranging from placid to murderous, but she had never seen him look so panicked before.

And then without warning, Kratos turned on his heel and began stalking out of the town. "Excuse me." The worried shouts of the group he was leaving behind fell on closed ears. Nothing else mattered right now, only the fact that they had Lloyd. Kvar had Lloyd. _Kvar_ had Lloyd. His mind began running through related memories; none of them were pretty.

Surprisingly enough, it was Raine who dared to suggest that they follow Kratos. "He can't take on a ranch by himself," she declared. "And I _know_ that's what he's intending to do." She could feel that deep down, sometimes Kratos could be just as easily swayed by his emotions as his son. And the feelings he was acting on now – those a father had for a son – were powerful enough to drive him to near insanity.

"Why?" Sheena asked. This was all going way too fast for her; one second she'd been planning a ranch breakout, the next the mean old guy in purple had beaten her to the punch. What?

"Kratos is our mutual friend's father," Raine explained. "He's the man Lloyd is searching for."

_What_. "You…you gotta be kidding me," Sheena said weakly. Mr. I'm-So-Serious-And-Tough was someone's _father_? She would have never have guessed.

"Kratos has a _kid_?" Genis asked incredulously, clearly of the same mindset. "No way." He had a sudden image of a miniature version of the angel, replete with death glare and crossed arms.

"It's no joke," Raine said, shaking her head. "I know, it's hard for me to imagine as well; the two of them are almost polar opposites."

Colette, on the other hand, was feeling more inspired than shocked. "Let's go help Mr. Aurion and his son!"

* * *

Nights in Meltokio…ah, what bliss. As Zelos strolled leisurely down the winding path to his house, whistling, he reflected on the night's events: partying, girls, and a wonderful lack of religion or sworn duties. Just the right cocktail for an overworked Chosen.

Sebastian was standing near the door as he walked up, and Zelos knew that something was up because usually his butler, understanding the Chosen's habits, would be in bed by this ungodly hour.

"…Sebastian. You're still up?"

The butler inclined his head toward his master and whispered urgently in the man's ear, "Someone is here to see you, Master Zelos."

"_What_?" Zelos recoiled. "At two o'clock in the morning? You gotta be kidding me!"

Sebastian motioned inside. "He is waiting," he said, and Zelos did not like at all the hint of uneasiness he detected.

"R…right." Zelos stepped inside and wondered how his own house could feel so chilly. A figure was seated at the plush sofa by the fireplace. One leg was loosely crossed over the other, and at first Zelos could see nothing except for a straight back and a head of messy, black hair.

But then, as if on cue, the man rose gracefully and turned. He smiled, although it only made his face look even more fearsome as the smile distorted the three jagged lines that carved their way down the man's face. "Hello, Chosen."

Zelos's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" He'd dealt with shady characters before, but never this shady.

"I heard you were a night owl; I wasn't aware that meant two o'clock in the morning." Amusement was evident in his mystery visitor's voice.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting here for half the night. No, really." The alcohol in Zelos's system made him laugh at a higher frequency than normal.. "Really sorry. So what was your name again?"

The man smiled grimly. "My name is Anza, and I am one of the Four Desian Grand Cardinals. I came because we have an alignment of interests."

Oh shit…Desians? Now? Zelos groaned. "What happened to that chick who was here before?"

"Pronyma is sadly indisposed; I have replaced her for the time being."

Zelos waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever, then, man. I already gave Yggdrasil my word that I'd do whatever the hell he wants, so you've got the wrong man." He turned to head up the stairs to his bedroom.

"I'm sure Cruxis won't be happy at all to hear that their poster boy is in league with the Renegades." Anza called sweetly.

Zelos froze and then slowly turned around. "Where did you hear that?"

Anza examined his nails. "Oh…let's just say that I'm a fair hand at investigation."

"What the fuck are you…?"

"Simply put, Chosen, I just asked your butler a few questions, examined a few finance records…nothing too difficult." The man laughed. "I should add that your butler is an absolutely charming fellow. Answered all of my questions almost immediately, he did."

Zelos shot Sebastian a look, and the butler made a swift motion with his right index finger across his throat, followed by a guilty look aside. So Anza had threatened him…

"You…" Oddly enough the first thing Zelos thought of was what the media onslaught would be like when news broke out that the Chosen was funding a group that aimed to abolish the Church – never mind that the Renegades had provided Tethe'alla with much of its Exspheres. "Okay, look. If you're here for money, I can—"

"I'm not here for your money, Chosen. I'm here for your cooperation."

"For what?"

"Cruxis is turning its attention to the Renegades; it's a very bad time to be a player on all sides, if I do say so myself. The consequences could be both financially and…_physically_ devastating." Anza chuckled.

"_For what_?" Zelos repeated. Martel, this guy was an ass!

"Very well, very well…I want information," Anza said, dropping the joking tone. "It's very simple, really. You may continue being a cash cow if you wish; we only require a little hint now or then about what direction the Renegades are heading in."

"What if you lose? What if they expected you to try to set me up as a double agent?" Zelos asked cautiously.

Anza smiled. "My boy, that's the beauty of it. If they win, so what? They have proven themselves to be stronger than Cruxis. You will be in their good graces, and no one need hear of your betrayal. If we win with your help, your wish will be granted. It's a no-lose situation for you. _But_…if you decide not to help us and we win, well…" Anza's smile widened. "I'm sure you will be regretting your decision mightily when that day comes."

Zelos shuddered. Never ever try to double-cross a cloaked man with a vampire grin. Not that he had the capacity to, being drunk at the moment. "O-okay, I think I get you."

"So you'll assist us, then?"

"I'll think about it." Best answer ever: defer the moment of truth for later.

Anza sighed. "I should have expected that response. Very well, Chosen – I will be back in two days' time. I expect to hear a solid answer by then." Without another word he vanished back into the shadows, leaving Zelos to scratch his head and slowly walk up the stairs, feeling as if the hangover was coming on early.

Leave it to the older generations to push all of their shit onto you.

* * *

Lloyd regained consciousness slowly. The first thing he noticed was that the ground was really smooth and…cold. Huh. He groaned and winced, feeling the large bump on the back of his head brush unkindly against the surface of this strange ground. "Ow…" The boy tried to move his arms, only to find them strapped to the—oh what.

He was on an operating table.

"_What the hell_?"

And then suddenly, the world swam into proper focus, and now Lloyd could see that he wasn't in Luin at all, but rather in a white-walled, brightly-lit room surrounded by beeping monitors and strange, sharp objects. _What the hell happened? I was fighting the Desians and then something hit me in the head, and it was…_oh, that was right. Desians. But…where had they taken him?

"Good afternoon." Lloyd blinked as a man leaned over him with probably the most terrifying grin he'd ever seen. "It's a pleasure to finally meet again after all these years, Lloyd Aurion."

Lloyd glared. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Ah, ah, ah…" The man waggled a finger in his face. "One question at a time, dear boy."

Lloyd growled in frustration. "Okay, where am I?"

"You're in my ranch, Lloyd. This is the Asgard Human Ranch. It's a pleasant place, don't you think?" The man smiled that horrible grin again, and Lloyd would have punched him if his arms weren't restrained. "You know, you actually have some ties here; consider this a heritage visit of sorts."

Asgard Human—Lloyd knew that name. Suddenly, he also had a name for the face before him. "_Kvar_," he spat. "You hurt my mom!" He struggled against the restraints, but to no avail.

"Ah, but at least I wasn't the one who killed her," Kvar said lightly, turning around and snapping on a pair of surgeon's gloves. "That would be your father's honor." He looked back and noticed Lloyd struggling. "Oh dear, what an inconvenience, no? I can tell you want to kill me, little Aurion, just like your father. Too bad you lack his power – but I can remedy that, isn't that kind?"

A Desian walked up with a tray, and Kvar lifted the object on it and held it up for Lloyd to see. He took a moment to savor the expression of fear that crossed the boy's face. "I think you'll thank me greatly for this in the near future, my boy."

An Exsphere glittered darkly in the bright lights.

* * *

A/N: So this chapter took a long time in coming; you can thank school for that. (College apps…what fun!) But I've sworn to finish this story, so I'll keep plodding along, even if it takes me another six months to get out the next chapter!

Anyway, during those six months, I went through a whole lot of plot revisions, so as you can see, Kratos and Lloyd are now very close to reuniting - but it won't be the happy affair I was initially planning on, ha. Let's see how much history LNR can repeat!


	16. Deja Vu

Kratos, by the time he had left Luin, had broken into a cold run, his wings all but forgotten in his complete and utter panic. _They have Lloyd. They have Lloyd. They have Lloyd._ The words repeated themselves endlessly in his mind, driving him on and urging him faster – faster, or Lloyd would be dead by the time he reached him, or potentially worse than dead, whatever that fate would entail.

Yes, he was throwing himself into needless danger. Yes, this was probably all one elaborate trap. He would pay the price, though. He'd promised Lloyd when he'd left that he would return alive, but if he were to compare his life to his son's, Kratos had no doubt whose took precedence.

The gates to the Asgard Ranch loomed before him, and in one stroke of the Flamberge, Kratos blasted the damned things to pieces. His pace didn't slow as he dashed through the ruined structure and into the ranch's courtyard. No Desians were crossing his path, oddly enough, but he couldn't be bothered to stop and consider the implications. They had Lloyd.

Now the doors took their turn. Another swipe, another deafening crash as he ripped a path in. A few more steps—

Kratos skidded to a halt inside the Asguard ranch, shoulders barely shaking from his mad sprint from Luin and eyes ablaze. And then the unexpected happened:

A Desian grunt came up, cool and unruffled, and bowed. "Lord Aurion, we've been expecting you."

The Flamberge came to rest right on the man's neck as Kratos stilled his breath and tamed his voice into something more dignified. "How so?"

"Lord Kvar" – the man swallowed audibly – "Lord Kvar is waiting for you in the main detainment hall; he requested that we escort you directly there. Please come with us peaceably."

"And if I choose not to?" The Flamberge dug further into his flesh, drawing blood.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lord Aurion," Kvar's voice called cheerily from over the ranch's PA system. "I have your son, after all—or do you enjoy losing family members on whims?"

Kratos's face darkened as he slowly withdrew the Flamberge and sheathed it. "It seems I have no choice. Lead on."

The Desian nodded and then began marching stiffly off deeper into the ranch, Kratos following a few steps behind him. _The last time I was in this position…_The last time he had been led around a ranch like this, he had been there for no official purpose at all. Yggdrasil had placed Sylvarant under his jurisdiction, and Kratos had made it a habit to inspect the ranches at least once in a few years, especially after a previous Cardinal several centuries back turned rogue without them even noticing. That last time, it had been Kvar leading him through the ranch.

_Your visit took me by surprise, Lord Aurion, I must admit._

_I do apologize for my sudden arrival._

_Oh no, it's no inconvenience at all, my lord. You actually chose to visit at a spectacular time for our ranch; I recently began a new project which I think Lord Yggdrasil will be quite pleased with._

_Oh?_

_Yes, I'm attempting to cultivate a Cruxis Crystal on a normal human host…_

Back then, he had not yet made his disagreement with Yggdrasil's plans public, but it had only taken a few weeks following his arrival at the ranch for that to fully come out and for Kvar to transform from a Cardinal he moderately respected for his efficiency into his worst enemy. How things had degenerated…of course, following his return to Cruxis, Kratos had ceased to visit any of the ranches, preferring to remain as much as possible on Derris-Kharlan for Lloyd's sake.

"Lord Kvar is inside," the Desian said suddenly, and Kratos tore away from his thoughts in time to realize that he was standing in front of a great pair of double steel doors, similar to the ones he'd destroyed outside. How…dreadfully melodramatic.

"Inside?" he repeated.

"Yes," the Desian said with a nod. He stepped back.

It looked like they weren't going to open the doors for him. Kratos sighed, placed his hands on the cold steel, and pushed. The doors swung open easily from the force, and he stepped through once he had made a wide enough crack for him to pass through. Once inside, the doors closed quietly behind him.

The room was dark with barely any light coming from the fixtures hanging from the high ceiling; most of the light in the room was provided by the dozens of glowing green columns lined the hall in rows. On closer inspection, each was revealed to contain some horribly mutated corpse of what Kratos could only assume was once a human; they were most likely failed experiments that Kvar had kept only for the purpose of ascertaining what had gone wrong. That there were so many of the tubes attested to the Cardinal's complete disregard for the value of _human_ life—although Kratos was fairly sure he had seen a Desian body among the unfortunate, still clad in the rags of his uniform.

The seraph looked away from one particularly gruesome body which had developed massive growths on its chest and face, and said, "Is there some reason why you've brought me here?"

Kvar smiled down on him from his place on the dais at the far end of the room, surrounded by dozens of flickering panels. "I happened to be in this room when the news came that you were approaching." He turned around. "Your visit took me by surprise, I must admit. I was not expecting you for a few more days at least."

"Is that so?" Kratos drew the Flamberge, letting the sound of the sword sliding out of its sheath reverberate throughout the room.

"Yes, it is." Kvar looked back toward the advancing seraph. "I would put that toy away, if I were you. It's not time for the fun to begin just yet."

"Where is my son?" Kratos asked coolly.

"So hasty! But, if you insist…" Kvar sighed and snapped his fingers. Two Desians came forth from out of the shadows, dragging between them a familiar boy.

Kratos could not stop himself from taking a sharp breath. The way that Lloyd's head lolled forward limply and the way his feet dragged behind him told him that the boy was unconscious. He couldn't detect any signs of foul play on his son, though; what was Kvar playing at?

"He's a lovely boy," Kvar said with a chuckle as he upturned Lloyd's face by the chin. "Just like his father – so brave, so dedicated to his family! You did well with him, I think."

Kratos's grip on the Flamberge tightened. "Release him," he growled.

Kvar moved his hand away, allowing Lloyd's head to fall forward again. "Or what, Lord Aurion? I think you're hardly in any position for demands; you are the fugitive here, not I."

"Lloyd—"

"—was impeding my annual host harvest," Kvar said sharply. "He killed at least a dozen of my men, Lord Aurion. And yet notice I have not killed him yet."

But by then, Kratos was already moving, sword poised for the kill. He was mere feet away; in seconds, Kvar would be in twain at his feet—

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast, or I pull _this_ out with my dying breath." And then Kratos stopped dead, a few yards away from the Cardinal.

"_No_."

Kvar smiled. "_Yes_, Lord Aurion." His long, slim, white fingers gently caressed the red jewel at Lloyd's throat. "It suits his choice of clothes wonderfully, I think."

Kratos struggled to block out the flood of memories that had started to pour in, memories of Anna in this same situation. "You – you would not dare," he said, hating the way his voice shook.

Kvar's smile broadened. "Oh, but I would, Lord Aurion. For fourteen long years I've waited for this moment, for you to be at my mercy once more. And now I have you, powerless, with yet _another_ member of your precious, pitiable family in my grasp. This is certainly a fine day for remembrance, isn't it?"

He tapped a finger on his chin. "Now, what to do with you? Simply handing you over to Yggdrasil isn't good enough; I want you to suffer; I want you to feel the same pain I felt long ago when Yggdrasil rewarded my loyalty with silence, when he rewarded your betrayal with your son's life."

Kratos had never felt such an intense longing before. It started deep inside him and then welled up until it had spread to the tips of his fingers which were now twitching, longing for Kvar's neck, for his eyes, for any part of him at all to rip and destroy. At least on that cliff top fourteen years ago, the Cardinal had taken Anna's Crystal without much pomp at all, but now he was drawing it out, savoring every moment.

"I enjoy this look of yours, Lord Aurion," Kvar drawled lazily. "It suits you well. The domestic life is really not for you, I think. No, one such as you deserves to spend his life walking that fine line between madness and hatred."

"This is all you want?" Kratos asked, and he laughed, struck by how harsh and high it came out. "This is all you want? For my anger to consume me – that is truly all you want?"

"No, this is only the beginning. I said you walked a fine line. I intend for you to cross it. But first, I'll repeat myself: drop your sword or we walk a little further down memory lane." Kvar's fingers dug a little deeper into the skin surrounding the Exsphere.

Kratos's eyes narrowed, but he complied, extending his arm to the side and letting the Flamberge fall to the ground.

"Good, good. You have some reason yet, Lord Aurion. And now…" Kvar smiled. "Now we play." He snapped his fingers, and in an instant Kratos realized that he had been drawn into a trap within a trap. No time to even curse, though; the intense jolt from the Energy Stone lurking behind him saw to that.

As he collapsed to the floor, all Kratos could see was Kvar's face, bearing down on him.

* * *

"Oh hell, he did _that_?" Sheena whispered as she surveyed the damage to the ranch's outer structure. They had definitely arrived later than Kratos had, but already Desians were swarming around the entrance, erecting a temporary barrier that the ninja knew they had no chance of getting through, not with the sort of stamina they had: already, Raine's brother was on his hands and knees gasping for breath after their little jog through the forest.

"This isn't going to be easy at all, is it?" Raine asked as she joined Sheena in peeking through the foliage.

Sheena turned away with a sigh. "No, but then, I didn't think it was going to be even before that guy decided to go on a rampage."

"How are we going to get in then?" Colette asked, eyes wide as she looked up from tending to Genis. "Are we going to have to fight?"

"No…" Sheena growled and smacked a fist lightly into the tree next to her. Why did team missions always have to be so difficult? "There's got to be another way in!"

As if to prove that he was more than some weird-looking dog, Noishe barked before running up, grabbing Sheena in a similar way that he had Kratos minutes earlier, and trying to drag her away.

"Hey! Wait! Ugh…what the hell is this thing doing?" Sheena, however, was no Kratos in terms of strength, and the protozoan easily dragged her a little bit further off to the side of the ranch. "Guys, hey, can I get a hand here?"

Urging Genis to his feet, Colette took off after Sheena with Raine, finding the ninja wiping her now sodden sleeve off with a look of disgust on her face in front of a large, admittedly out of place grey rock, a rock which Noishe was currently pawing at furiously. "Oh, you're alright!"

"I _wish_," Sheena said grumpily. "Don't know why he's so interested in this rock here."

Raine brushed off a few leaves behind the rock. "Perhaps because of this little tidbit here?" she asked mildly before pointing to the dull gleam of exposed metal. " There's a breeze around this crack; it appears this is some sort of tunnel…perhaps an emergency exit or a ventilation system of sorts." She looked at Noishe curiously. "Have you been here before?"

The creature barked and tilted his head, as if to say, "What do you think?"

"Hm…" Raine frowned as she recalled exactly whose dog this was – and this time she wasn't talking about Lloyd, who had clearly never been to Sylvarant before his current foray. "But what reason would he have for coming here? And if he used this…"

Meanwhile, the other three were clearly more concerned about the matter at hand. "Why would a ranch…have an _emergency exit_?" Genis asked incredulously.

"Uh, maybe because there are emergencies?" Sheena asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"It just seems a little too easy to me," Genis retorted. "I mean, how can we know that it's not a trap or something?"

"It looks like you have to put in some numbers or something!" Colette reported as she peered at the side of the rock. "See?" She pointed, and Genis and Sheena both craned their necks to get a better view of the small panel. "It says 'Enter Code Here to Open'."

"…okay, that's it," Sheena said as she straightened up, hand at her forehead. "Desians are as dumb as bricks."

"You got it," Genis said, sighing and shaking his head.

"But we don't know the code," Raine pointed out, conveniently ending her speculations about Kratos's connections to the Asgard Ranch. "Therefore, it's still every bit the impassable entrance that it's supposed to be."

"But we can't go looking for the code," Sheena said desperately. "We have all of thirty seconds to do that."

"Maybe we'll have to blow our way through like Kratos," Genis suggested. "I mean, we've got to have _some_ element of surprise."

Noishe barked, and all three spun around to see Colette holding the rock-door aloft with one hand. "Hey guys, I think I got it!" she cried happily. "And I didn't even have to enter any numbers at all!" She set the rock down next to the exposed tunnel, revealing the dark entry way in.

Sheena's jaw dropped. "_How the hell are you lifting that_?"

Genis, meanwhile, had already recovered, being already familiar with Colette's occasional godlike feats. "Good job, Colette," he said shortly, "let's get going, guys." He disappeared down the tunnel.

Raine seemed to scrutinize Colette intensely for a second before she too returned to business, but not without a soft smirk crossing her face. "Naturally…"

"W-wait! Don't you guys think that's a little – oh, what's the use," Sheena grumbled as she followed them down.

As shocked as she had been, though, once inside the ranch, Sheena easily took the lead, being the only member of the group who had much experience in being stealthy. As soon as they had successfully locked themselves in some kind of secure room, she exhaled slowly.

"Okay, here's what we have to do: find Kratos or his kid, and blow this place to pieces – oh, and we have to do both without getting killed."

"That sounds like an excellent plan," Raine said with a touch of dryness, and Sheena blushed.

"W-well, I'm just—I'm just not used to working in teams, sorry."

"No, it makes sense." Raine wandered over to one of the screens nearby and began typing away.

"Hey!" Sheena rushed over and knocked the other woman's hand away. "Don't touch that if you don't know—whoa, what?" She stared as a map of the ranch popped up.

Raine returned the favor and batted Sheena's hand away. "I know what I'm doing," she snapped. "Give me some space, please."

"There are people on this side too who can operate these things…?" Sheena backed away, muttering to herself.

"Wow!" Colette bounded over. "That's so cool! What are you doing, Professor?"

"What every good invader does," Raine replied smugly. "Destroy things from the inside."

"Really?" The Chosen leaned forward in apparent wonder and then looked down at the panel of white buttons lining almost the entire length of the wall. "I don't think I'd ever be able to work something like this…"

Trying to maintain her balance, she put her hand down on a large, orange button with black lines painted on it. The motion went unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Sheena knelt down next to Corrine as the other three marveled the computer "Hey, Corrine, I need you to do something for me. You're the smallest one out of all of us, so I need you to scout ahead and try to find that kid and his dad, okay?"

"Wait, but Sheena, aren't they going to find…?"

The ninja turned to a nearby vent cover and sliced it in two with a card. "This place is crawling with Desians, and if we get in trouble, there's no way we'll be able to find them. So I need you to. You can do that, right?"

"Alright…"

* * *

It had been an idiotic, stupid move to think nothing was behind him. Magitech was Kvar's strong suit; of course he would create some damnable machine capable of going undetected even by _angelic _senses.

Kratos's hand twitched vainly, seeking the familiar hilt of the Flamberge to wrap itself around. But no such luck; rather, he was in the most compromising position he'd ever been in for the past decade, sprawled flat out on his back.

Magic. He had to do something, defend himself somehow, but every time he reached for the tendrils of mana he knew were there, his mind twisted and went blank, and the spell eluded him. He couldn't attempt to bully his way through either; the Energy Stone was floating nearby, crackling ominously.

Kvar chucked softly somewhere above him. "Having fun, Lord Aurion? That lightning is rather neat, I'll admit – a little something I developed in the aftermath of our game of cat and mouse a few years back. Think of it as a scrambler of sorts, a way to put the arrogant and powerful in their place. It doesn't just disrupt your nerves, you see."

Even if Kvar was being a filthy hypocrite, Kratos did have to grudgingly commend him for some brilliance: not only was his magic slipping through his fingers, but spots were still dancing in his eyes, and he was finding it hard to focus in on anything at all.

Not good.

"Now behave yourself, Lord Aurion, and maybe I'll let you keep most of your original form once I'm through with you." Another snap of his fingers summoned yet another pair of Desians, although these wore lab coats. "Make sure you sedate him _before_ taking him to the labs. I don't want any slip-ups."

"Sir!" They saluted and then walked over to the fallen angel. One of them knelt down and popped the cap off of the needle of a long and ugly syringe. Rolling Kratos onto his side, he plunged the needle into the angel's neck and pressed down on the plunger. Kratos twitched once and then went still.

"Easy enough," Kvar muttered to himself as he walked over and examined his prize. "It's the family men who are always the simplest…"

"_Yes, it's a fairly complicated machine; as our ninja friend there seems to know, hardly anyone in Sylvarant can operate it. I can be fairly sure in my assumption that I'm the only exception."_

"_So how'd you learn how to operate this anyway, sis?"_

"…_ahem, that will remain a secret. Now stop bothering me. I need to work through a very complex security algorithm here."_

Everyone in the hall froze until Kvar broke the silence with an ear-piercing shriek. "_Get them_!"

* * *

"Hey, here's another idea, shouldn't we get all the prisoners out of the ranch _before_ we blow it up?" Genis asked as he watched Raine's hands work their magic.

"I was just thinking of that," Raine said tersely. "There should be some sort of—damn it!" Without warning, she slammed her hands down on the keyboard. "They've locked me out of the system!"

"W-what?" As if on cue, Sheena and Genis all backed off from the control panel. "They found us out?!" Genis asked with an audible note of terror in his voice.

"I can't imagine how…I'm using the guard's account; this should look perfectly normal…"

"Er…" Colette lifted her hand, exposing the orange button, and looked at Genis and Raine sheepishly. "Oops."

Sheena groaned. "That is the most terrifying word I've ever heard." She looked at the two Sage siblings, who were uncomprehending. "What? You don't know?" The ninja pointed at the button. "That's the intercom switch. Basically, they've just heard everything."

* * *

Corrine growled and flattened his ears. This vent was hot and stuffy and smelled funny – and he couldn't even _see _anything! Not fun, not fun! Why had he ever agreed to stuff himself down here anyway? Sheena was with Raine and those other people…well, he didn't know where, but it definitely wasn't in a small metal _tube_.

The little Summon Spirit flattened himself a little further against the interior of the pipe and shuffled farther along. He could see the light hitting the top of the shaft further along; there was a grate coming up that he could take a peek through.

"…what are you fools doing? Find them! Kill them! I want the Chosen here, dead, at my feet!" Some man was screaming orders left and right, and Corrine frowned. That didn't sound like a boy and his dad at all! Then he managed to bend down a little farther and saw another man splayed out on the ground with red hair. That was the one! The dad!

Unfortunately, at that point, the grate gave way, and with a squeak of surprise, the Summon Spirit went tumbling down, down, down, landing thankfully enough square on the dad's back – but the man didn't move. What was wrong with him? Was he asleep?

"Filthy maggots, useless swine..." The voice from before was muttering to itself, although now it sounded much closer. "And what are you two standing around for? Get him out of my sight and down to the labs!"

"S-sir! Look! There's a _dog_!" Corrine whirled around, saw a helmeted man point a shaking finger, and realized that he'd been found out.

"What? Where—_kill that thing_!"

Only one thing he could do. Corrine brushed aside some of the man's hair and bit him on the neck. Hard.

* * *

One has never truly been bitten by anything unless by an angry Arshis; Kratos had keenly felt that despite his numbed sense of touch. But then, most people usually weren't bitten by desperate Summon Spirits either.

The seraph had been floating in an induced stupor, somewhat aware that he was lying on the cold ground, absolutely defenseless, with Kvar not more than a few steps away from him. He'd felt no urge to change the situation, really, until all of a sudden a terrible sharp pain ran down the side of his neck, and Kratos snapped awake with a yell. He sat up on the spot, one hand clamped to his neck – was he actually _bleeding_?

He had just barely remembered where he was when he noticed a Desian bearing down on some tiny fox creature with a staff upraised. "Who…what…"

"Help me!" the thing squealed, and although his mind hadn't quite regained its usual prowess, Kratos had instinct enough to stick a foot out and neatly trip the incoming Desian. There was an ominous buzz not far away, and again, on instinct, he rolled to the side just as the Energy Stone discharged.

Slamming a fist into the prone Desian's head (and creating quite the crater in the ground), Kratos got to his feet, retrieving the Flamberge as he rose. The Desian's comrade, seeing what the seraph had done, let out a desperate sort of squeal and fled.

"Go, go, go!" the fox-thing urged. "Beat the bad guys all up!" It danced back and forth.

"What is this?" Kvar's face had twisted into an ugly scowl as he backed up.

"You will let my son go," Kratos said evenly as his wings blossomed behind him. "And then you will die."

Kvar snatched Lloyd away from the grasp of his subordinates and propped him up so that he faced Kratos. The two Desians, meanwhile, took advantage of the situation to likewise flee. "No, either you go or he does," he hissed. "And you have no more foxes to fall from the skies, Lord Aurion."

"And you" – Kratos turned around and demolished the Energy Stone with a flick of his sword – "have no more tricks to pull, Kvar."

"Then we are at a perfect stalemate, aren't we?" Kvar asked with a giggle. "The calm before the storm, one might say. Now. Who will crack first, you think? I have hundreds of men in this place, waiting for a single word.

"Who will come for you?"

* * *

A/N: Terrible cliffhanger there, but I had to do it; I'm still debating several key plot points, and unfortunately that may mean a longer wait for the next chapter than any before as I try to make the story as "realistic" as possible while still satisfying you all and my own headcanon. It's a terrible compromise, I have to say. (And I think some of you may guess what point I'm talking about here!)

Anyway, please review; all the feedback seriously inspires me!


	17. Or Not

Sometimes, Sheena had to admit, the best plans were the ones that she came up with on the fly. Consider the current situation:

After being chased through the ranch by a horde of Desians, she'd come to her senses before Raine and realized that they needed numbers and that they needed a diversion. There was really only one source to provide that: the ranch prisoners. By complete luck, they'd managed to force themselves into the holding pens, overpower the guards, and get the lock open in not much time at all. (And…it was all because Colette had tripped that one time.)

It was a little low, sure, using defenseless humans against Desians, but once again, all of them had underestimated the potential of the human being when incredibly angry – and also the potential of the human being when confronted by the Chosen One. The ninja had to admit: even though she was supposed to kill the girl, Colette could still manage to be pretty damn useful – when she wasn't accidentally pressing intercom switches.

So the prisoners had been enough to give them all their second wind back, and with the last of her Guardians to aid them, they'd beaten back the Desians and given them the ass-kicking that they'd always deserved.

Now it was time to complete Part Two of their mission and find Lloyd or Kratos – or both of them at the same time.

"Alright," Sheena snarled as she adjusted her grip on the Desian's collar, "where are they?"

She'd deliberately left one of the scum alive for information, and now she was employing the part of Mizuho's ninja arts that was even more rarely shown to the public because of its ethical ambiguity: interrogation. Colette was thankfully engaged in delivering some sort of inspirational, divine message to the now-freed prisoners; otherwise, Sheena knew she would never have been able to get away with this.

"I – I don't know…"

"_Where are they_?" Sheena yelled as she shook him violently. She whipped out a card and held it against the man's cheek, right below his eye. "Tell me," she ordered again.

The Desian tried to inch as far away as possible as he could from the card. "I can't…"

"Why not?"

"Orders…"

Sheena sighed. "Look. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Chances are that your precious Cardinal's been killed." She watched him carefully, waiting for a reaction. "What, you don't believe me? Think about it. He hasn't said anything to the Chosen, has he? No message of victory, no gloating…nothing. You'd think he would by now. You'd think.

"And if he's dead, where does that put your orders? In the trash, that's where. So you can stick to trash and lose an eye…or two, or you can tell me and be guaranteed your life, health, and a ticket out of this place."

To back up her words, she let a little mana seep into the card and let him watch an arc of lightning lazily trace its way around the length of the card. "Well?"

"F-Fine I'll tell you…they're in one of the specimen halls in the labs. The largest one. That's…that's all I know."

"That'll do." Without warning, Sheena cracked his head against the nearby wall and watched him slide down limply to the floor. "Sorry. I forgot to mention the headache."

Then she walked out of the shadows back into the prisoners' rooms. "So, we all wrapped up here? I know where we gotta go."

* * *

Kvar carefully weighed the situation before him. Lord Aurion would be able to reach him in less than a second; he knew well the capacities of an angel. He could remove his son's Exsphere in less time, though. It would be enough of a distraction – the angel would surely rush to his son's aid rather than commit to killing Kvar first – for him to make his escape and discover if his mostly incompetent staff had managed to kill the rest of their unwelcome visitors or not.

On the other hand…what if Kratos actually killed him? While it would certainly be a disappointment, he wouldn't be leaving without a nice parting gift, per se. It was a rather satisfying outcome, strange as it was to admit it. The Seraph had done him the disservice of nearly ruining his career more than a decade ago; Kvar was in fact quite keen on returning the favor. His only regret, of course, would be that he would be absent for the rest of the show that would swiftly follow: Aurion striking down his own son, crumpling to the floor in a distraught and utterly broken mess, perhaps taking his own life some time after – now wouldn't that be a profound way to end it all?

"Yes, I do like that," Kvar whispered as his lips curved into a vicious grin.

Not more than ten steps away, Kratos Aurion flinched.

"Do you remember what I said earlier, Lord Aurion, about having you cross the line between hatred and madness?"

No response.

"I think now would be a good time to cement that little fording. I grow weary of this wasteful game, myself."

"No…" Aurion's voice cracked, and Kvar realized then that he had won.

"Oh yes." He took one more moment to imprint this feeling of wildly uncontrollable _glee_ in his memory forever and then took the plunge. His fingers tightened around the orb, dug into flesh; Aurion howled.

"_No_!"

Time slowed almost to a standstill. Kvar's fingers dug into clammy flesh as deep as they could go. He could feel the cold, smooth surface of the Exsphere lightly hitting his palm as he tugged upward…

And then a hand grabbed his wrist. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kvar looked down in disbelief into the eyes of one thoroughly awake and thoroughly pissed Lloyd Aurion. "How…?"

"I said, '_Let go_.'" Lloyd gave a sharp twist with his hand, and there was a loud crack. Seconds later, Kvar was careening backwards from the boy, screaming and clutching his hand, now bent at a strange angle.

Kratos wasted no time: in six steps he was there, sword flashing. All it took was one swift stroke to divest Kvar's head from his neck, and the corpse collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from the stump. Truth be told, it was a fairly anticlimactic ending to the Aurion family's bloody history with Kvar—no last, gasped out curses; no prolonged suffering—but it made _absolutely sure_ that the Cardinal was dead; the last thing Kratos wanted was for Kvar to get his second wind and his gods-given miracle to expire.

Father and son stared at each other for a while, both unable to believe the turn of events.

"He woke it up. Y'know, stress always produces the greatest growth results." Oh, the double-edged glory of the Exsphere. Always managing the impossible. Lloyd cracked a thin smile. "Glad I could help."

And then he fainted.

* * *

Usually, Kratos was fast, but the speed he'd put on in order to catch Lloyd before his son hit the ground had broken records. He hadn't bothered to try to wake Lloyd back up; no, the first order of business was definitely the Exsphere. The boy could sleep for now; he surely deserved it after what he'd done.

The bloody marks around the crystal made it clear that perhaps even a second more and history would have truly repeated itself. It had truly been a miracle that Lloyd had come out unscathed where his mother had not, and Kratos let out possibly his greatest sigh of relief ever as he realized that for once, fate and luck had ruled in his favor. So, so close: Lloyd would never hear of the way that his father's heart had nearly stopped dead, of the sense of utter despair and resignation that had nearly overwhelmed him.

It came out in spurts: softly at first, and then gradually building until he couldn't hold back any longer and simply sat there laughing helplessly with Lloyd tucked up against his chest. It was utterly ridiculous: he was the one with thousands of years' worth of battle experience under his belt, yet in the end who had he been forced to rely on? His teenage son…and a fox. Sometimes, Kratos thought, he didn't even know why he bothered to try.

"Yay!" Of course, the little fox-thing had to ruin the moment. "You did it, you did it!" It danced next to him with all of its tails waving about furiously.

"Not me, hardly," Kratos managed, gasping for breath as he tried to gather up the last shreds of his dignity. "I just watched…"

"You would have been sleeping instead if it weren't for me," Corrine said proudly, and was rewarded by Kratos reaching down and scratching him behind the ears.

"Yes, thank you…?"

"Corrine!"

"Corrine," Kratos repeated firmly.

"_There_ you are!" Sheena burst into the room, followed by the rest of the gang. Kratos hastily dispelled his wings. "Sorry we're late; we got held up by some other business."

Colette and Genis peeked out behind Raine. "We saved all the prisoners!" the Chosen announced. "They're all waiting outside. We have to go soon since Professor Sage pressed the self-destruct button." She smiled as if pressing such a button was equivalent to serving everyone lemonade on a hot day.

Kratos stood up with his son still in his arms, and Corrine watched as his face rearranged itself into a far colder, flatter expression. "We'd best be off, then." He walked past the rest of the assembled group without any sort of greeting and waved off Raine as she attempted to approach him.

Corrine pawed at Sheena's boot until the ninja looked down. "He was laughing earlier," the fox whispered before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sheena looked back at the retreating figure. "You're kidding."

* * *

When Lloyd came to, he noticed two things immediately. One was that he wasn't inside the ranch anymore; this was made obvious by the lack of metal, Kvar, and white in general. He couldn't be in Luin, though; the whole place had been almost completely burned to the ground – a fact which still caused him a twinge of guilt. Sure, the town had already been alight by the time he'd gotten there, but – as with all hero types – he couldn't help but believe that if he had been stronger, things might have been different.

The second thing he noticed was his father sitting nearby with his long legs stretched out in front of him and his feet resting on a table that had been pulled closer. Kratos's chin was touching his chest; it looked like he was asleep. Lloyd knew better, though. Yes, sometimes his father needed rest, but he was never actually sleeping. Angels did not sleep.

But there was always the slim chance…just to test, Lloyd cleared his throat softly. Kratos's eyes flew open.

"You're awake." He didn't sound startled at all, as if he was just confirming something he'd already known.

"Yeah." Lloyd coughed and tried to clear his throat more thoroughly; his voice was all scratchy and gross.

"Feeling better?"

Lloyd did not miss the way his father's eyes glanced down at his chest. He knew it was there. The Exsphere seemed to open a whole new chasm between them. Either there would be too many words as he tried to explain why he'd gone alone into a Desian-filled, burning village, or there would be too few as Kratos tried to downplay the whole event and postpone what Lloyd knew would be another one of his episodes of crippling depression.

"What do you think?" Lloyd smiled in an attempt to alleviate the tension. "I got a rock sitting on me."

His father made a vague noise of acknowledgement. "That you are your usual animated self sounds promising."

"Oh come on." Lloyd couldn't resist. "What, did you think the instant I got one of these things I'd turn into you?"

Bad move. Kratos visibly flinched.

"O-okay, um, well, what I meant was…er…you know what? To hell with this." Lloyd straightened up. "Dad, I'm sorry. I mean, you had to come after me and now the Chosen's probably off schedule and Yggdrasil is gonna murder me and…why are you looking at me like that?"

Kratos shook his head, trying to dismiss the small smile that had crept to his face. Oh, there was so much that Lloyd had yet to learn – mainly that the Chosen would likely be departing his company very soon. "I'm proud of you for not blaming this whole thing on Yuan."

"Yuan!" Lloyd jumped. "Oh, wow, I totally forgot about him!" He slapped a hand to his forehead. "I just…" He looked back at Kratos. "Don't kill him, okay? It was totally my fault."

Kratos only stared at his son for a moment before patting him gently on the shoulder and saying, "I'm glad you're alright." Then he stood up and left.

Lloyd watched him go. "Glad to see you too," he whispered.

* * *

Back in his base in the middle of a frozen wasteland, Yuan sneezed violently and then let out a string of curses as the movement aggravated his still-healing injuries. Leaning heavily against the nearest wall, the Renegade leader pressed a hand to his chest, willing the pain to pass. These cursed bruised ribs…damn Yggdrasil. It was a good thing no one else happened to be passing down the hall at this moment; Yuan knew that some of them – Botta especially – would be moved to assist him in some horrifyingly pitying manner that he hated.

Exhaling slowly, Yuan straightened up and made his way into the communications room. There was an urgent message awaiting him.

"Well?" he snapped as soon as he entered, fixing the room with an irate glare. "Where is he?"

"Line ten, sir!" someone shouted, and Yuan muttered a brief thank you before sitting down in a padded chair in the center of the room and pressing a button on the panel next to him.

"Well, Wilder, what are they up to now?" he sat back and adopted a devil-may-care posture that didn't agree with his ribs. But this appearance was needed.

"Nothin' much," said Zelos.

Yuan stifled a groan. Even though having the Chosen of Tethe'alla as an informant was certainly a windfall, sometimes the boy could be aggravating, especially when it was obvious that he was waiting for some kind of reward. "Then why bother to check in?" he asked testily.

"Just to, uh…let you know what's going on – er, what's _not_ going on." Zelos had a strand of his red hair wrapped tightly around his finger.

"You're playing with your hair," Yuan said flatly, pointing a finger at the minute movement. "And you seem a lot tenser than usual." He straightened up and leaned toward the projection on the wall. "Tell me what's really going on."

"I am?" Zelos laughed. "Hey, man, I'm just sitting here with nothing else to do other than stare at your ugly mug for the next, what, ten minutes? 'Course I'm gonna do some fidgeting."

Yuan rolled his eyes. "If you're going to be that way, Wilder, I'll end our little deal here and now. You can stay the Chosen for the rest of your life; it makes no difference to me."

"Yeah? I'll just take my stuff to Cruxis then. Bet they'd give me this deal and more if I told them all the shit I knew about you and your little Renegade act—"

Yuan shot up angrily and ignored his protesting side. "Like hell you will, Wilder. You don't have the _guts_ to tell them you originally double-crossed Cruxis," he hissed.

"Watch me," Zelos dared.

Yuan's eyes narrowed. "I'll kill you myself, you—"

"A-hem…" Botta stepped in way of the conversation. "I must apologize, Master Zelos. You've just…" He looked back at Yuan and gave him a stern look that said, 'you-twit-we'll-talk-later'. "…caught Lord Yuan at a bad time. Are you sure there is nothing of particular value that you wish to tell us?"

The half-elf watched as Zelos relaxed. Unlike Yuan, who had never exactly developed the ability to treat idiots as if they were actually geniuses, Botta knew how treat their information source. Zelos Wilder did not like feeling threatened; one had to make him comfortable and necessary before he would start revealing things.

"Well…I mean, if we're talking about Cruxis…"

"Of course we are, you absolute—mmpgh!" Botta's large hand slapped itself over Yuan's mouth before the other could ruin the fragile balance.

"Continue," he said calmly.

"…well, they contacted me recently," Zelos said lamely.

Yuan grabbed Botta's hand by the wrist and forced it away from his mouth. "What did they want?" he demanded. Already his head was spinning. Why would Yggdrasil possibly contact Zelos? The Chosen, by most appearances, was largely unaware of world affairs – let alone _Cruxis_' affairs. Unless…unless Yggdrasil already suspected Zelos of knowing more than he let on. Unless Yggdrasil had figured out to whom Zelos currently owed his tentative allegiances…

"They asked me if I knew anything about you, about the Renegades," Zelos said in one breath. "I didn't tell 'em anything, though – said I was the Chosen, not some crazy rebel." He laughed.

"Huh…" Yuan's brow creased. In a way, this was good: Zelos had gotten Cruxis off of his tail _and_ alerted him to their greater plans: a search for him. Well, he'd been expecting that for sure, ever since he'd warped Lloyd and himself out of there. It was about time.

"Thank you for letting me know this," he said, finally looking back up at the screen. "You're dismissed."

"Aw, no apology?" Zelos smirked. "I did give you _something_, didn't I?"

Yuan scowled, but relented. "Sorry," he said shortly. "Now get out of my face."

"Just say the word." The screen faded to black as the Chosen cut the connection.

* * *

A/N: Well, I didn't kill Lloyd...couldn't bring myself to, haha.

Anyway, can you believe it's been nearly two years since I've updated this thing? You probably all thought I had forgotten about it. (To be honest, I was going to give it up, but then I reread some of the old chapters and realized how bloody brilliant this all was, and how I needed to finish it Or Else.) I wrote out this chapter _ages_ ago, actually, but somehow forgot to upload it until now.

Um. I also have no idea when the next chapter is coming, but I can promise you that it will be coming. Some day.


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